Project Love
by cupcake291
Summary: "So the answer is simple," Dez spoke to Ally. "Find yourself a boyfriend to impress your boss." "Soo, Austin this is easy," Trish continued. "Find yourself a girl to settle down with." The two stared down, lost in thought. They picked up their drinks and downed it in one drink. Slamming the empty glass on the bar table, they both looked up, determination set in their eyes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 of "Project Love"**

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Thud thud thud._

The young brunette's eyes opened in sound to the rhythmic beating that seemed to be coming from the ceiling above her.

_Thud Thud._

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sound. The grimace on her face showed her determination to get at least five more minutes of sleep.

Thud.

"Gahh. . ." Letting out a sigh, she reached for her covers and pushed them off.

She jumped out of the bed and went into the bathroom, letting out a small grumble on her way there.

Reaching for her toothbrush, she squirted on some toothpaste and then stuck it into her mouth, starting her usual morning ritual of brushing her teeth.

Her eyes wandered about the bathroom, as she checked that everything was where it was supposed.

Slightly OCD. Yes, yes she was.

Her eyes drifted some more before finally resting onto her reflection into the oval mirror on her wall. Her hand stopped the repetitive back and forth motion in her mouth and she studied herself for a bit.

Her eyes were caramel brown, a kind that can be stormy if it wants to or glimmer like a diamond in the sunshine.

A curl had misplaced itself from behind her ear and made a perfect swirl right by her cheek.

Her line of vision fell down to her baggy t-shirt and shorts that was covering her petite self.

_I had work; couldn't change into my comfy PJ's. _

She let out a soft whine in her head as she thought about last night's all- nighter she had pulled.

Suddenly her small mouth opened up for a yawn and she remembered the toothbrush that was just kind of dangling in her mouth.

She pulled it out and spit into the sink, before wiping her mouth and searched for her clothes.

"Need to look good for today's presentation. . ." She muttered softly to herself, tying the slim back belt around the black pencil skirt and white blouse she had slipped on.

Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the clock, realizing there were only a couple of hours left before her big project.

"ALLYYYYY!"

The woman heard a familiar voice shout and she quickly grabbed her bag and a granola bar, before opening the door to a tall redhead.

"Ready?" He was shuffling through his own bag, searching for his keys as he spoke.

He looked up for a second, reassuring himself that Ally was there. His soft brown eyes had a special sparkle to them and freckles were spread out all amongst his face and arms.

Ally quickly locked her apartment door behind her and turned to her best friend since forever.

"Yeah, let's go, Dez."

Yup. It was true. Dezmond Worthy and Allyson Marie Dawson had gone to school together since practically forever. Which, eventually did lead them to becoming the best of friends.

Sure, people made fun of him cause of his goofiness and people made fun of her cause of her dorkiness, but that was the one thing that had brought them close together, not being able to fit in.

Ally still remembers the first time she had met Dez. She immediately grew fond of the boy despite his oddness and odd carry- ons.

But she could never get over the fact that he didn't seem to care what others thought about him.

Well the two worked at one of the greatest law firms a Stanford education could offer.

Yeah, who was making fun now?

It was quiet as the two headed down the hallway. Ally could still hear the soft thumping from the floors above her.

_Could have gotten five more minutes._ Ally silently regretted her morning wake- up in her head.

"I started filming something last night." Dez spoke, while they walked down the steps of the building out to the parking lot.

"Oh yeah?" Ally quickened her pace in order to have a conversation with him.

"Yeahh. It's about this girl and how she should follow her dreams and all that."Dez turned down to look at her, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Dez. I told you. Songwriting was something that I did of the past. We're lawyers now. It's time to. . .to let things go." She finished softly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before ripping open the granola she had grabbed on her way out.

"Huh? No, arrogant!" He scoffed slightly, climbing into the car and turning on the ignition.

"It's not always about you, Ally. My movie is about Miss apple who had a great dream of being a banana." He ended with a dramatic finish and a glare from Ally.

"Im just kiddingg.." He laughed as she smacked him.

They had already seemed to land outside of the firm office of Grimmer and Bank.

Ally's heart started to thump louder and louder. She swore that Dez could practically hear it.

After all she was minutes away from her presentation in front of her Boss.

Dez turned off the car before turning to her.

"Ready to present your big case today?" He asked a hint of laughter in his voice.

Ally's face was a mix of confusion and fright, like she would rather jump off the Earth than walk into the office.

Ally let out a deep breathe, ignoring him and grabbing her things, hopping out of the Prius.

"I'll take that as a yes." Dez said, reaching for his things and following the small brunette into the doors of the building.

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

_Wakeee upppp. . .Wakeeee uppppp. . ._

The gorgeous model mouthed to him as he received his Emmy Award up on the stage. The blonde boy stared at the words that seemed to be coming out of her mouth, when suddenly. . .

"WAKE UP!" A cold fluid fell down onto his face and he sprung up out of his bed, losing all memories of his model and his awards.

"Gosh, took you long enough." A stout Latina girl stood before with her hands on her hips.

She grinned as the boy ran his fingers through his hair and shivered in his now- wet shirt.

"Austin, come on. Big day today." She spoke behind her as she walked out of his room, an Iphone in one hand and a blackberry in the other.

She had always insisted that as being soon- to- be international pop- star's manager, she needed all the latest gadgets.

_Gahhh.. Five more minutes._

He tugged the covers over his head, but the wet fabric against his skin was just too uncomfortable to deal with. He threw off his blanket and almost drunkenly stumbled towards the hallway.

Austin stared at Trish de la Rosa's retreating figure as she yelled into her phones.

He thought back to the good old days of high school when the two had just met.

They had started out as neighbors, which led to being friends. Which led to sitting on the rooftop of their school and talking about their aspirations and dreams.

Which eventually did lead to today, with Trish as his manager and himself as one of America's most heart-aching pop stars.

Austin Monica Moon.

Although Trish had prevented his middle name from getting out to the press.

He shivered from Trish's cruel wake- up call and headed over to his bathroom. He took a shower before throwing on a signature Austin Moon outfit, complete with the chains, jeans, vest and tie.

"Austin let's go!" Trish yelled, snatching his things and tossing it into the back of the yellow convertible.

"Kay." He grabbed an apple and then quickly ran back, changing it for a banana (1), before jumping into the car.

Trish recklessly drove onto the highway. She wasn't exactly the best of drivers. But eh, Austin wasn't one to complain.

He turned up the volume on the radio and sang along loudly, while Trish shook her head. She was used to the blonde boy's antics by now.

Trish pulled up in front of the recording studio and the security guards did a quick glance before letting them in.

Austin couldn't help but smile each time he remembered how much he had actually moved up in the world.

His dad had always told him he would never make it big.

_But look at me now.._

Austin rushed out of the car, as soon as Trish parked. He did a quick dance move to get himself pumped before going in.

"Come on." Trish sipped her Starbucks before stepping in front of him, leading the way in.

But it still didn't matter how many dance moves or sing alongs he did. Today was just another recording day.

All the same.

Sighhhh. . .

"Great case presented Ally. Truly spectacular. Loved every minute of it." A stout elderly man stood behind an oval desk as an over enthusiastic Ally Dawson explained her big project.

His eyes were occupied by the ipad hidden on his lap, and he waved her away with his hand.

"Really?" Ally smiled. She knew pulling that all-nighter was worth it.

_Successs.. . _A little happy dance went on in her head.

"Yeahh yeahhh."

His eyes continued to be preoccupied with his lap.

Ally finished cleaning up her stuff and was about to turn head out when she thought back to Dez's words from the night before.

"_Don't wimp out. Ask him!"_

_I'll ask him, I'll ask him. _Ally's mind repetitively thought.

"So do you think that the umm promotional position would umm be open?" Ally spoke softly, playing with a curl that seemed to escape from her bun.

The boss' head looked up at her question.

"Promotion?" He asked.

"Yeahh." Ally nervously shuffled her feet. "But, I mean if its too much to as-" Ally instantly regretted it.

_Who did I think I am? Gosh, Ally. _She bashed on herself.

"Noo, not at all." He cut her off.

Ally's breathing heightened. Could she actually get promoted?.. Mental squeal.

"Here's the thing."

_Damn so close. _Ally's hopes crashed back down again.

"I've had a lot of young, successful women and men asking for this role, which is why I'm hosting the banquet this weekend. Show me your fun side, your personality. I want to be working beside someone who's a person, not just a worker. Hearing me, Dawson?"

"Yes, hearing you." Ally replied. She felt like she was filled with bubbles even thinking about the possibility of getting promoted.

"Wonderful. And bring friends, boyfriends. Fun time.." He droned on, staring down onto the screen in his lap once more.

_I'll just drag Dez with me. He'll liven things up. _

She smiled at the thought of her insane friend.

Ally turned towards the door, thanking the boss once more, before exiting.

She quickly headed into the break room, itching to tell someone about what just went down.

"Hey how'd it go?" Dez popped up behind her a donut in his hand.

Ally glimpsed at the donut and then grabbed it, taking a bite.

She had been nervous about the presentation all day yesterday, barely even eating last night and nibbling on her granola this morning.

She spoke in between mouthfuls of donut,

"It was great! I don't think he was paying to close of an attention though." Ally ducked her head, and made a note to throw in something to catch his attention next time.

_What was even on that ipad that was so important?_

"The promotion?" He urged on.

"I have to go to a banquet and win him over with charm and personality."

"Ahh well then that's a bust." Dez responded, crossing his arms as Ally popped in the remainder of the donut into her mouth.

"Whaaaatt? I am totally fun." Ally leaned against the copy machine, before losing her balance and falling onto Dez.

"Okay fine, I'm not fun, but you are!" Ally waved her hands.

"Pleaseee Dez you have to come to the banquet with me. Pleaseeee." Ally started.

Dez let her beg a little longer before caving in.

"I do love banquets."

"YESSSS.. I'm getting promoted, yee, im getting promoted, yee." A small salsa dance started in her head and she waved her hands in a crazy, cute motion above her head.

Dez smiled and began to dance as well.

Ally heard voices coming down the hallway and she glanced over at Dez.

"You're supposed to be working!" She reprimanded him.

She shoved him into a cubicle, before casually leaning against the counter to finish her donut. After all, she would hate for him to get in any trouble.

"Ally?" The boss' voice was heard was once more as he looked up to her.

"Why are you having break by yourself? Come, come." He motioned her to follow him.

Ally's eyes widened. _This is great, I'm getting buddy buddy time with him. Wooo.. _

"Why don't you have break with us?" Ally peeked out behind him as they walked into the room.

There were a group of lawyers just like her sitting on a table.

The boss sat down amongst them and Ally stole a seat over on the edge. She was never good at fitting in. She had always eaten by herself or gone into Dez's office to chat with him.

"And this is a picture of us on the beach." Tilly seemed to be showing around pictures of herself and her boyfriend.

Once she saw Ally and Boss sit down, she leaned over, extending her phone to the vision of them as well.

Tilly Thomsen.

How to describe this girl, no one really knew. Except that she was a genuine bitch.

Ally and Dez had gone to high school with her and she was the popular girl. The plastics in "Mean Girls", the girls who found it hilarious when Ally would trip and all of her stuff would cover the hallways, or when Dez would sit in the cafeteria and organize his backpack of hams. And as Tilly grew older, she stayed the same. Still the popular girl, with the best boyfriend and the best job, loved and worshipped by everyone around her, no matter what harsh words would come out of her mouth.

"Awww." Ally let out the appropriate response earning a proud smile from Tilly and the Boss.

Tilly scrolled through more photos, pointing out where they were and the small back stories.

Ally looked around and saw multiple other girls, out on their phones, showing off pictures of their family and friends, but mostly their engagements or boyfriends.

Ally sulked slightly.

It wasn't that she didn't want a boyfriend. She just had never gotten to it. It was like one of those things where she would say she would try dating next year. And then next year became the next and the next. You couldn't find a boyfriend at work.

Boyfriends meant going out to clubs and restaurants and mingling and time- which Ally really didn't have as much as used to.

"Here are my wife and kids." The boss pulled out his ipad, showing them around as well.

_That's what he was doing?! He sees them at home! Couldn't he give me like half an hour of his attention! But no, I lose to a photo!_

Ally stared at him, shaking her head slightly, before pulling out the remainder of the granola bar that she hadn't finished earlier.

"What about you Ally?" A cheery voice that could only belong to Tilly spoke.

"Hmm?" Ally tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Don't you have a boyfriend? I mean it's totally okay to be ashamed of yours after seeing mine. I mean who wouldn't be. He's funny and sweet and I'm going to bring him to the banquet on Sunday for all of you to meet." Tilly flashed her signature smile in the Boss' direction, but he seemed to be waiting on Ally.

"I've never heard you talk about your home life." Boss spoke up, as if it suddenly occurred to him.

Ally was stumped as she noticed the group of girls all seem to turn and stare at her.

"No, well. I- uhh."

"See I told you guys she doesn't have a boyfriend. I mean who would want to date her?" Tilly spoke and turned her attention back to her phone.

The Boss' eyebrows pulled in with worry.

Ally seethed slightly with anger.

_What a-_

"For your information, Tilly, I do happen to have a boyfriend and he's smart and funny and sweet." Ally rambled on slightly.

The Boss smiled brightly at her response. "Bring him to the banquet!"

"Wha-" Ally faltered at his words.

Another lawyer came over and asked for an attention of the Boss' time, pulling him away for a moment.

"Yeah. You should definitely show us your amazing boyfriend." Tilly spoke, staring her down with every word. Ally could sense the irony and her sarcastic tone, which only made her angrier,

"Uh I don't know if he can make it." Ally shyly spoke.

"Cause he's not real?" Tilly instantly backfired.

The other girls around them turned their heads back to Ally, watching them as if it was a tennis match.

"He is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

The two girls started in a small childish argument. Ally squeezed her fingers together into a fist. Fighting every urge to not lean over the table and rip out all that pretty blond hair on her pretty fake head.

_I don't think that would show the best personality for a promotion._

The Boss returned back to the table and turned once more to Ally.

"So you will be bringing this amazing boyfriend of yours to the banquet?" He implied. A smile covered his face and he seemed to be already excited.

Ally sighed before letting out a strained voice.

"Sure thing."

_. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

"I'm just an illusioooonnn…" Austin ended on a smooth note, giving himself a mental pat on his back when he saw Trish and the other sound managers smiling at him from behind the glass screen.

He gave a giant grin of success, before shyly running his fingers through his hair.

Trish leaned over and spoke through her speakers, "Great job, Austin. Take five."

Austin nodded before removing his headphones and placed them on the stand.

He exited the recording studio and glanced about for a second.

Trish was busy with other managers and everyone else seemed to be bustling around.

He let out a small pout when he realized he had no one to fool around with.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he decided to take a stroll into the break room.

Food is always a good friend.

"Hey!" Austin greeted everyone at once and smiled when he saw them all turn and smile at the peppy, blonde boy.

He reached over a muffin before deciding to take a seat amongst the other artists who were also snacking.

"Thinking about this ring." A brunette haired guy next to him was passing around his phone, showing the others what seemed to the ring that he was going to propose to his girlfriend with.

"Nicee." A couple of guys approved of it and Austin strained his neck to check it out.

It was nice, Austin agreed. The ring was a silver band with a small ruby in the middle. Elegant and classy.

He returned his attention back to his muffin, trying to eat all the chocolate bits first, but he couldn't help but notice the small feeling of emptiness that he seemed to have taken over.

It wasn't that Austin didn't want a girlfriend. A lot of girls actually considered him to be a flirt which he probably was, but he just didn't seem to have time for a girl or ever really find the girl.

He had always been a player in high school, but once he graduated things changed. He became completely focused on his career, not really bothering with how his sexual life was going.

He glanced at the guy next to him who was getting advice on his ring. He didn't seem to be much older than Austin, if anything possibly younger.

"How about you, Austin?" A couple of guys looked over to him. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up from his muffin.

"Hmm?" He asked with a small idea that he already knew what the question was going to be.

"You have a girlfriend?"

Nailed it.

"Umm nah, not really." He shook his head, trying to pick out a chocolate chip that had caught his eye.

"Austin here is a little player, aren't we now?" A guy next to him jokingly nudged him and Austin smiled, but once again felt the same emptiness feeling come back to him.

"Heh Wellll. . ." Austin messed around with the guys, popping his collar for emphasis. He beamed in success when the other guys laughed.

"Austin. Let's go." Trish appeared next to him. Her eyes were focused on her phones, but she spoke to him.

"Yeah, sure." Austin threw the rest of his muffin in his mouth and said his byes to everyone before following Trish out to the car.

"You have to perform at a club tonight. You're ready?" She glanced up from her phone to look at him.

"Yeahh." He spoke halfheartedly then decided to bring up the question as they continued their way to the car.

"Is it bad that I don't have a girl in my life?" He asked, innocently.

He turned his head to the side, trying to avoid looking Trish directly in the eye. She had always slightly intimidated him.

"Huhh?" Trish slipped her phone into her pocket as they approached the vehicle.

"A girlfriend. I mean like all the other guys. . ."

"Austin hold on, I'm getting a call." She held up a finger before putting her phone to her ear, once more.

They reached the car and Trish continued to talk on her phone. Staring the ignition and heading out onto the road while she did so.

Her chattery voice was lost into the background as Austin stared at the road. The white lines indicating the lanes, seemed to fly by.

Each rectangular square taunting him as he thought back to everything.

Coming out of the studio, lonely.

Eating in the break room, lonely.

Sitting in the car now, lonely.

Trish approached a red light and the little white rectangles slowed down. Each line was perfect and defined. Just like Hollywood.

Everyone was always perfect with their cars and their girls and their lives.

Austin ran his fingers along the window sill of the car.

_I'm two thirds a rectangular square._(2)

_. . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _

(1)- hehe you see the whole apple and banana thing I did.. haha

(2)- So I wasn't sure if people would get this little thing I did. So like by two thirds I meant that he has cars and he was a pretty perfect life, but he doesn't have the girl. And then like yeahh.. haha hope you kinda get what I did.

HIII GUYSS!

So I started my new story! Ive had this idea stuck in my head for a while and it was like gahh, must write it out.. haha. I hope you guys liked it!

The Wedding Planners will be updated soon too guys! I was thinking of alternating, like one week wedding planners and then one week project love. I don't know I'll see which one you guys like more..

REVIEWWW REVIEWWW REVIEWWW!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 of "Project Love"**

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Dez, I'm really not in the mood to go anywhere tonight." Ally complained as Dez shoved his way down the hallway into her room.

Ally ran her fingers through her smooth locks, resting on her bed. She leaned back, feeling the cool sheets relax her skin.

Dez went through her closet in a rush. He pushed aside her work clothes and knit sweaters for something appropriate that she could wear tonight.

_To wherever we are going. . . .?_

The remainder of their day at the firm had gone like always. The small visitations of Boss, the catty remarks of Tilly and of course the piles of work that seemed to constantly add up.

A basic Friday more or less.

But, it didn't matter that it was a Friday afternoon, Ally had her head wrapped around all the stuff she needed to do.

_Finish of the Carson's case._

_Buy a nice dress for the banquet._

_Find a boyfriend to take to the banquet. . ._

The last comment drabbled on in her head over and over again.

Why on earth had she told Boss and Tilly that she had an amazing boyfriend?

And WHERE was she supposed to get one? And one to impress her boss at that?!

You couldn't just walk into Wal- Mart and order up a boyfriend to pick up at Sunday evening.

_Unfortunately._

Ally rubbed her eyes, her mouth forming a small 'o' as she yawned.

She glanced over at Dez and found him to be admiring her party dresses. He plucked a purple dress out and held it far away from him, before chucking it by the window.

"Hey!" Ally got off of her bed and walked over to pick up the dress.

She felt shimmery cold fabric on her fingertips and thought about the possibility of Dez dying his hair for the banquet. Then he could pass for her smart and funny boyfriend, right?

Yeah, no.

"Here!" Dez handed her a simple red dress that hugged her curves nicely. It was strapless and Ally had bought it when Dez needed her to go with him to his cousin's baby shower.

Ally remembered telling him that it didn't make sense for a guy to be invited to a baby shower, but Dez persisted that he had to go.

Funniest day ever when a pregnant lady doesn't let Dez into her house..

_Ahhh. . .good times._

Lost in thought, Ally went over to the bathroom, slipping on the dress.

She returned back into the living room to see Dez have changed into a slim dress shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. He paired it off with a pair of converse that Ally was convinced the redhead was far too attached to for his own good.

Suddenly it dawned on her, the question she should have probably asked by now.

"Dez where are we going?"

"To celebrate!" He cheered.

"Celebrate what?"

"Your promotion!" He gave her the no- shit- Sherlock expression and turned his head, indicating the black kitten heels he had left by the door for Ally.

_Yeahh. The promotion that's never going to happen because I cant take Dez because they all know that he isn't my boyfriend and I cant find a boyfriend.. . and. . .and im not going to gettt the jobbbbb.. _Ally whined in her head, mentally tearing up, as she walked over to the heels by the door.

Dez opened it for her, making a dorky sweeping bow.

"After you."

Ally rolled her eyes, reaching for her purse on the way out the door.

Her heels softly clicked across the tiles on the way out.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Burning it upppppp" Austin practiced his note in front of the mirror, tilting his head in tune the music.

He smiled at his success in becoming sexier with the head tilt and made note to follow that during the performance.

He glanced back in the mirror at himself, before sighing and turning away. He hopped off his chair and turned to the all the free food, spread out on the tables in the green room.

He reached over for a cherry, popping it in his mouth before looking around him.

_Everyone's gone._

Austin's opening band had gone out, performing at the moment and Trish was probably screaming at someone about god knows what right now.

He pulled out his phone and glanced at the wallpaper of himself.

_If I had a girlfriend, she would be my wallpaper._ He moaned slightly to himself.

It was ridiculous.

The idea of couples was constantly taunting him, ever since he had walked into the club. They were all over the place, making out in a corner, hugging by the bar table, grinding on the dance floor.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, tilting his head back to rest.

"Austin! On stage in five!" Trish yelled into his room, not even bothering to look up from her phone.

"Austin?" She finally turned her attention to him when she didn't hear his response.

"Yeah?" He closed his eyes and didn't even bother to move.

"You okay?" She tilted her head at him.

"Yeah." He sighed and pushed himself off the wall.

He never realized till now, how exhausting this week actually had been. Three concerts, five interviews, two dance practices and the number of hours he spent in the recording studio were endless.

Trish slipped her phone away and walked over to him. She patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Hey. I know you've been through a lot this week. All the recording, interviews, practicing. . . it takes a lot of work and I know its tiring. One last show of the week, kay? You got this." Trish gave him a small pep talk, for once giving her client, her full attention.

Austin gave a small smile and a nod.

"I got this, Trish. But can I talk to you about. . ."

"Later, Austin. You need to get out there." She gave him a small shove out the door.

He practiced his line one last time, before the stage.

"Burrrnninggggg it upp. . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

"I can't believe you're taking me to a club" Ally let out a small pout as they walked through the hallway leading into one of the hottest clubs of Miami, Florida.

Bright neon lights flashed against the walls and Ally could feel the bass from the newest song already synching with her heartbeat.

"I'm just an illusionnn. . ." Super star Austin Moon finished his song with a classic dance move causing a line of girls to let out shrieks. Ally rolled her eyes at the boy on the stage.

She recognized Austin Monica Moon.

Well of course she did, everyone did.

He was known at the cutest pop star of the century and according to Ally's thoughts they weren't too off about the attractiveness portion.

But she simply didn't like the pop star part of it. Music is something you're supposed to feel, bring your emotions and feelings into it. It was like a form of poetry that you sing, not a bunch of random lyrics of clubs and girls and parties. That was what music had become these days. Nothing meaningful and influencing; just catchy trash that you somehow to your least dislike end up humming in the shower.

Ally thought back to the time, when she was scrubbing away and lost in thought had belted out a verse out Mr. Moon's newest single at the time. She shocked herself enough to just drop her soap on the bathroom floor.

Not one of her greatest moments.

Ally turned around to see where Dez had disappeared off to and found him over by the rest of the screaming girls. He was wiggling his hips in tune to the song and gave a shout when Austin said his good- byes to the crowd.

The live music was traded in for the D.J, causing a slight commotion for a little while. But having been heavily intoxicated, the dancers moved back into happy mood once another song came on.

Ally sighed before heading over by an empty bartender stool to take a seat.

"One shot." Ally spoke once the bartender turned his attention to her.

"Shot of what?" He asked. The guy was a classic bartender, the black v-neck paired with skinny jeans, straight hair mysteriously tossed to the side.

"I really couldn't care less." Ally sighed at the boy.

He nodded before turning away to take care of her order.

Ally pulled down on her dress. She was starting to feel a bit self- conscious of what she was wearing. After all, she wasn't exactly in the best of moods to get hit on by sleazy guys tonight.

"Here you are." The bartender slid the small glass towards, giving a small wink in the process.

Ally gave a small smile of gratitude, before drinking it at once.

The drink burned its way down and Ally winced. She had forgotten how long it had been since she had truly drank. Like drank drank, not the whole wine and cheese spiel that she would do for the classy art shows on weekends.

"WOOOO!" Ally recognized the enthusiastic redhead that swung into the chair next to her.

"What upp Ms. Promoted?" Dez giggled at his own little teasing.

Ally raised an eyebrow before tapping the rim of her glass for a refill.

_Longest Friday of my life._

"Dez, I'm not going to get promoted." Ally said to him with frown on her face. She played with her fingers trying to avoid his confused stare.

"Huh?" He blatantly stated.

"So, after you left. Boss didn't want me to have break on my room and then he invited me to go with him and then Tilly was there and I got mad and said I have a boyfriend that it sweet and funny and smart and. . ."

"Ally breathe."

"I'm going to be assistant till the day I dieeee." Ally drank another shot, letting it burn the entire way down.

Dez made a small smile of reassurance and ordered himself a shot as well, before speaking.

"Soooo, Ally the answer is simple. Find yourself a boyfriend to impress your boss."

"Can you be my boyfriend? You can wear a wig. I promise they won't know it's you."

"I'm pretty sure they're going to figure it out." Dez glanced over his shoulder at a short Latina girl who seemed to be talking to her friend in a disguising hoodie. She was playing with the straw in her drink while she listened to the hoodie talk.

_She's cute._ He noticed, before returning his attention back to Ally.

"Besides Ally, don't you think it's time, we start to umm mingle?" He suggested.

"Dez, I need this job! I'm tired of always getting more work dumped on me. I want to be my own boss."

"Well then Ms. Ally Dawson, I think you need to find yourself a boyfriend." Dez raised his eyebrows and smiled, repeating his only advice.

Ally glanced at Dez from her third refill. She stared at the reflection in her drink, swirling it around in her glass for effect.

_He's right. The only way I'm going to get a boyfriend to impress my Boss is if I go looking for him._

She tilted her head back, finishing the last drop and gently clinked the glass to the table once more. But this time she glanced across the table, hearing a matching clink on the other side.

She looked up and straight into the warm brown eyes of a cute stranger.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Great show, Austin!" Trish nodded in approval as he walked off the stage down towards his dressing room.

"Thanks." He reached for his towel, wiping off some of the sweat from the show.

Trish studied her friend for a little bit. He didn't seem his usual peppy self. It was as if something was on his mind and it wasn't one of those things that was going to go away with a club performance or a stack of pancakes.

"Should we go home?" He asked, tossing the towel around his neck and reaching for a bottle of water.

_That's weird. He loves performing at clubs. Always begging to stay a bit longer for the fun of it._

"Nahh. I mean, don't you wanna go into the club for a bit?" Trish offered him, hoping he'd perk up.

"Trish, they're just going to crowd around for autographs and hugs." He said, crinkling his water bottle and tossing it away when he finished.

She raised an eyebrow with a smile, before lifting up a disguising jacket.

Austin smiled at her plan, before slipping it on and zipping it up.

Trish covered up his blond hair as best as she could with his cap and pulled the hood of the jacket on top.

"The shoes." Trish pointed out.

"Noo." Austin let out a small shriek of protest, moving away.

"Do you wanna be a normal guy tonight or not? Cause no normal guy owns Austin Moon's Jordans." She stated clearly, almost taking on the impression of a mother.

Austin looked away, before using his feet to slip off the shoes. Trish grinned, handing him a regular pair of vans (1), (probably from some poor backstage club worker) and then stepped back to admire her creation.

"Let's go." Trish led the way out, but Austin took a stole a quick glace in the mirror before heading out. He looked nothing like himself.

_Just a regular guy._

He pumped his fist in the air, before hurrying slightly to catch up with Trish.

The two exited from backstage into the main club. Austin felt the light scent of alcohol in the air, along with the bodies of random people brushing by him constantly.

He felt tingly. It was weird being on this side of the club for once. He was used to being the one they all turned to instantly, running up and crowding him with blank pieces of paper and pens. But, he was just an ordinary Joe tonight. Some random kid who wanted to go out on Friday night for some fun.

"Let's get some drinks." Trish suggested as Austin admired the area.

The two pulled up some stools and joked about Austin's new appearance, while they waited for the bartender to finish up. He slid the glass to the group behind him and then turned to Austin.

"What you feeling buddy?"

"Just a shot."

"Of what?"

"Ehh, anything." He replied casually. Trish had always ordered this stuff for him, but this time she had kept her mouth shut.

After all, he was a normal guy. What kind of normal guy has a girl order their drink?

The bartender, cocked his head, before slightly turning to look at another group.

He was lost in thought about something and Austin couldn't help but ask.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." The bartender waved him off. "Just been hearing it a lot tonight."

He turned to his duties and Austin shrugged.

"Alright. Tell me what's wrong with you." Trish reached for a martini, swirling the straw around in it for a little while, resting her hand under her chin and taking on the appearance of a Dr. Phil.

"Nothing." Austin played with his multiple bracelets. He looked back up to Trish and saw her patiently waiting for him to open up.

"I'm going to be single till the day I die," He muttered. The drink appeared in front of him just in time and he downed it. He shoved up his sleeves of the hoodie and tapped the rim of his tiny glass.

"Huh?" Trish stopped playing with her straw and turned her full attention to him.

"I don't have a girlfriend and today at the studio, this guy who was probably younger than me was already getting married and I just. . . I want a girl that I can go out with on weekends and strum my guitar to and one… one that likes me for me, not for Austin Moon."

Trish slowly digested everything he had gone through.

It had been a while since she had seen Austin hang around with many girls who weren't completely obsessed with his looks or his music.

"Austin, why are you stressing over this? The answer is simple. Find yourself a girlfriend." Trish replied. She indicated his outfit. "No one knows who you are right now. It's perfect."

"I can't just find one!" His eyes widened.

"Sure you can. Look there's one over there." Trish pointed to a blonde that seemed over the age of thirty.

"A little too old that one actually." Trish winced at her own idea. "Alright, umm how about that one?"

She tilted her head twice towards a stealthy black haired woman.

"Ehh. That one kind of creeps me out. Never mind her." Trish rebuttled her own point.

She seemed to be having her own conversation with herself, set on finding Austin his dream girl.

"So you'll help me?" Austin smiled widely at his manager.

"You think I'm going to let you find your own girlfriend. No, no, she needs the Trish stamp of approval first. Knowing you, you'll come home with some bozo."

"Done!" Austin agreed and drank his last shot, while Trish zoomed in on every girl in the room.

Austin finished his drink and let the glass softly hit the wood.

_Clack._

An identical sound to his own was heard on the other side of the bartender's island and Austin looked straight up.

Straight up into the eyes of the cutest brunette that he had ever seen.

"That one."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Heyyyy!**

**So I forgot this in the first chapter. Haha so excited to post it that it fled my mind, butt..**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AUSTIN AND ALLY. (unfortunately, some day, some dayyy) lool**

**(1)- I don't own vans either, so just borrowing the name.**

**THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR THE REVIEWS.. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! I would smooch the tops of all your little heads, but that may be a tad awkward.**

**Also thanks to all of the reviews that told me how to improve my chapters. I love improving myself and hearing about my faults just makes me a better writer. So thank you,**

**And for the first chapter, if you read it before I fixed it. I have no clue how you did. **

**So story timeee, but in the beginning when I posted it, I used this rlly cute symbol I found to separate the p.o.v's but then I went on to see how the chapter was doing and apparently fanfiction did not like my symbolizing, so they left it out. Bums. But yeah, I fixed it, trading in my thing for just regular dots again. So sorry once again about that! Try to read the first chapter, again. I think it'll be a ton clearer.**

**Hehehe u guys feeling the auslly too? Cuz I am! Hope you liked.**

**REVIEWWWW! REVIEWWWW!**

**Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 of "Project Love"**

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"That one." Austin breathed.

He studied the petite girl sitting on the other side of the counter. Her curly brown hair swooped just by her shoulders, barely touching her milky smooth skin. The silky red of her dress contrasted against her skin tone, giving her a radiant shine. There was a rosy pink blush covering her cheeks as she stared back into Austin's eyes.

And oh gosh her eyes.

Austin was mesmerized. They seemed to be a caramel brown color, big and curious framed with long eyelashes that would put mascara companies out of business.

No, the girl didn't have the figure nor the face of a model or actress, the girls with the nose jobs and over- perky boobs that Austin was used to. But she was beyond beautiful in the most unique way. It was as if one sees diamonds every day and then one day comes across a ruby.

A brilliant, gorgeous ruby that was taking his breath away.

"How about that one?" Trish ignored Austin, lost in her thought. She pointed out an older blonde who seemed to be dancing wildly in the middle of the dance floor.

"I see slight potential." Trish stroked her imaginary beard in thought, before wincing when the blonde turned to make out with another guy.

"Potential gone." She muttered before turning back to Austin.

"I don't know. Maybe a club isn't the best place. I mean. . Austin? "She paused,

"Austin?! Are you listening to me?" Trish tugged on his jacket, attempting to bring his small attention span to her again.

"Her." He whispered again.

Trish followed his line of vision and ended up on a small brunette sitting across from them.

She was talking to a tall, lanky redhead and her curls bobbed up and down in excitement. Just then she stole a small glance at Austin and Trish, smiling shyly.

_She's cute. _Trish thought.

_And doesn't seem to be a bad influence. _Trish observed her trying to tug the hem of her dress down a little more.

_Ehh, let's take a chance on this girl._

"Gosh would you stop staring? Go talk to her." Trish nudged Austin, snapping him out of his stare once again.

"I don't know. . . " He looked down at himself and then to her again.

"Austin, she's pretty and you're not 'Austin Moon' for once in your life. It's now or never. Cause that girl is not going to stay in the club all night." Trish pep-talked him.

Well pep-talked, as in Trish's form of a pep-talk. Which usually consisted of no pep and all talk.

But, she still made a point.

The redhead beside her tugged on her arm and seemed to be hinting for them to go on the dance floor. He waggled his eyebrows in persuasion, but only earned a giggled and another shake of the head from his friend.

_Or girlfriend?_ Austin froze and everything seemed to slow down.

_Was the redhead a boyfriend?_

Austin looked over to the young man who had given up on the cutie and moved onto the dance floor on his own. He was shaking his body in tune to the music and thankfully for Austin's sake was trying to dance with another girl.

Only to be pitifully smiled at and turned away.

_Awhh, poor guy._ Austin shook his head, but the freckled boy simply moved away towards another girl starting on the same pattern of hitting on her.

_God, I love this kid._ Austin laughed in his head at the redhead's obliviousness to just about, well, it seemed everything.

Austin turned back to his girl across the table; she was pulling out her phone from her purse.

She scanned the text, before dropping the phone onto the table and rubbing her eyes in frustration.

Austin took a deep breathe. _She's alone. It's now or never. . . But, wait. . why is she sad? I'll make you happy._

A superhero theme song began in his head as he gave Trish a nod and went towards her.

"I'm rooting for you." Trish called out, while sipping her drink. She looped her fingers around the pink swirly straw once more.

Austin rolled his eyes. He knew his friend. In about two seconds, Trish would turn away and onto the dance floor, abandoning all of her previous relationship interests. Austin wanting a girlfriend, whaaaa?

He was getting closer to her and his heart seemed to beat louder with each step. His makeshift 'super Austin to the rescue' theme song drumming in his head.

She picked up her phone and began to tap about, when Austin stole the seat next to her.

She seemed even more perfect up close.

The brunette looked up at the sudden movement and her eyes widened when she saw a new boy sitting next to her.

The same cute boy from across the table, that Dez had been chatting about a couple of seconds ago.

"_I sawwww thattt. It's fate Alls. Not too shabby of a kid either." He wiggled his eyebrows at her._

"_He is cute, but Dez, I cant just. . ."_

"_You need a boyfriend for your promotion right? Go mingle, talk, flirt."_

"_I don't even know what flirting means!"_

"_What kind of lawyer doesn't know the definition of words?"_

"_Dez!" _

"_No wonder they won't give you a promotion." He joked, earning a slap and push onto the dance floor._

"Hey." Austin spoke, raising his voice slightly so the music didn't drown him out.

He flashed his signature smile and almost habitually lifted his arm to run his fingers through his hair, giving off the appearance of his sex hair.

Then he placed his hand back on the table as it suddenly dawned on him, that his hood and hat that Trish had shoved on his head might possibly get in the way.

_Damn. _He cursed at his restrictions.

"Hii." Ally tucked a curl behind her ear and Austin couldn't help, but wonder how lucky the curl must be to get that close to her.

Yup, the kid was wishing he was hair. That's how hard he's fallen for this girl.

"I'm Austin." He froze as soon as the words left his mouth.

_Shit, last name. Last name! Can't bring up the last name._ He prompted himself.

"Ally." She held out her hand for a shake, which Austin took. His hand easily slipped into hers, like a missing puzzle piece.

_When you think about it, this is our first hand- holding moment._ He goofily thought, as he shook her hand.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl." He replied smoothly. His words were genuine, Ally really was gorgeous.

"Thanksss." She spoke, nodding. Her cheeks reddened and Austin smiled at how he had made her blush.

_Uh. Uh. Uhhh. Say something.. anything.. buy her something! Yeah yeah girls like free stuff. _He thought back to his dates from long ago.

"Do you want a drink?" Austin waved the bartender over, only to have Ally's hand cover over his and bring it down to his side again.

"No no no. I've had plenty to drink so far. . . trust me." She smiled as his thoughtfulness.

"Rough day?" Austin spoke, tilting his head in compassion.

"You have no idea." Ally sighed and Austin couldn't help but feel that superman part of him coming back.

He wanted to make her smile and laugh, hating how we had no clue how to help her, or even what was wrong. It was like his new universe of obligation had become her, and only her.

"Tell me." He leaned into whisper by her ear.

Ally shuddered at this sweet guy's warm breathe on her skin.

As much as she truly didn't want to admit it, she was insanely attracted to this kid. He was cute and cough really really cute. Enough to make even the whole casual dress fly by well with her.

The whole hood and hat thing could be assumed thuggish from a grandmotherly point of view and strange in a club, but Ally thought differently, seeing him as an innocent boy having a bad hair day.

And that's coming from Ally. The girl who made sure Dez's shirts consisted of the proper tie combo.

And to make things brighten up even more, if Ally hadn't been reading the signs completely wrong, this guy seemed to be flirting with her.

_Or well, I think flirting. Note to self: Google 'how to flirt' when I get home._

"It's just. . . I wanted a promotion and I don't think I'm going to get it." Ally shortened her day's mess into one simple line.

"Lemme guess. . . hmm. . .banker?" He smiled, picturing her behind a counter, handing out money.

"Nope." Ally shook her head, returning the smile.

"Doctor?" An image of Ally with a stethoscope popped up.

"Oh god, clumsy people and science do not mix together well."

"Alright so that rules out all sporty occupations." Austin spoke, causing a small giggle from Ally.

"I'm a lawyer." She gave in, shyly averting her eyes from his.

"Ohhhh hoooohhh hoooohh someone's a fair girl" Austin waved his hands in surprise and Ally burst out laughing at how ridiculous Austin seemed to be.

"Yeah, I abide by the law." Ally bit her lower lip. Her heart seemed to be skipping beats as she spoke with Austin.

"So say, you're in the very front of a line into the club and I just show up. You wouldn't let me cut with you?" He raised his perfectly slanted eyebrows in question.

"Nope." She smiled a wide grin.

"But its me!"

"Back of the line." She responded, a small giggle bursting from her lips.

"Wow you really are fair." Austin tilted his head in acknowledgment.

"Nahh, my friend Dez considers me to be a pushover sometimes."

"Well we all have our pushover moments." He grinned back at her.

There was a slight pause in the conversation until Ally spoke once more.

"What about you?"

"Umm uhh. . .songwriter." He spurred on the instant moment and then cursed himself.

_Why not just place a big sign on your forehead that you're Austin Moon in disguise._ He bashed silently on his answers.

Ally's mouth hung open slightly and Austin heard her mutter what seemed to be words of disbelief.

"You write songs?" She murmured, barely loud enough for Austin to hear.

"Yeah, for um like a record label." Austin continued onto his makeshift job.

"I used to. . ." Ally paused and then shook her head, a quick shrug and 'never mind' taking her original answers place.

"Used to what?" Austin asked. The smooth Bruno Mars song was replaced by an upbeat Katy Perry, booming throughout the entire club.

"Huh?" Ally leaned in closer to him, having trouble hearing his voice against the lyrics.

"Used to what?" His mouth opened wider to project his voice, but had no success.

"I what?"

The two's conversation resembled one of elderly ladies with hearing aids.

Austin laughed at her, before pulling out his phone from his hoodie.

Typing onto his phone, he wrote out, "Wanna go someplace quieter?"

Pushing the phone towards her, his eyebrows pulled together in question.

_I'm not coming on too strong, am i?_

Ally took his phone with a smile and glanced at the words on the screen.

_Go somewhere quieter. . .that means leaving the club, with him. .. someone who's not Dez. _

_Oh god i couldn't do that. What if he's a serial killer who's pretending to be a so-called songwriter._

_Or what if he rapes me?! I knew I shouldn't have worn this dress. Sends all the wrong signals._

_But. . ._

_What kind of serial killer has such warm brown eyes?_

_And if he was going to rape me, he would have tried to seduce me by now, no?_

Ally stared at the words a little longer, completely stumped.

She didn't know whether it was the shots drunken ahead of time, or the fact that this could be the boy winning her her dream promotion, the boy who could possibly help her crush Tilly's ego to the ground. .

But strangely enough as she nodded at his question, she had none of those thoughts roaming around.

Just a small voice in the back of her head telling her to take a chance with this charmer.

. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Hehe how you guys liking it?! Sorry if it wasn't completely up to par with all my other chapters, but this week is homecomingggg, wooooooooooooo, so yeah our school is partying it up and I've been dying with all the prep for it. **

**And hopefullyyy, The Wedding Planners will be updated soon! No worries haven't forgotten about it. Halfway in the middle of the newest chapter, so im feeling like an update maybe next weekend? We'll see…**

**REVIEWWWW PRETTY PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP!**

**Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 of "Project Love"**

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The neon lights of the club pulsed against the walls of the tunnel as the twosome walked out. Each color making its own statement, contrasting against the white washed ceiling and translucent glasses of the bartender's drinks.

The green of the jolt of energy that passed through him when she nodded yes.

The blue of knowing that us, together just seems right.

The red of falling hard for someone you barely know.

The burning red that Ally Dawson had on Austin Moon.

"Soo. . ." Austin shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He peeked at her from under his eyelids.

There was a slight chill in the ten o' clock air and the wind whipped around them, shaking the palm trees that lined the sidewalk and causing pedestrians to bring their jackets just a little bit closer to themselves.

Ally leaned in closer to Austin, silently cursing her midriff of a dress that was allowing to breeze to feel her up.

He subtly tugged his hood down, cursing the wind as well for bringing his hair out from under the security of his jacket.

"Soo. . ." Ally repeated his words to him, a rosy pink color covering her cheeks. She wasn't used to going out on walks with guys at night.

Or well go anywhere with guys at night.

Err well, go anywhere with guys.

Ally looked around, tucking a curl behind her ear.

Buildings lined each other with their flashy advertising signs. Palm trees filled the sidewalks, giving off signature beach chill look that Miami is known for.

There were kiosks open all around the blocks, each one of them with their own unique merchandise, hello kitty backpacks and surfboard keychains.

There were tourists struggling with their brochures, the young hoodlums photo whoring with their neon sunglasses and skateboards, little kids swapping at strangers with their glow in the dark glow swords as the parents gave small smiles of apologies.

Ahh Miami. Living the suite life alright.

Ally turned her attention back to him, still staring open eyed around, as if all of this was new to her.

_What part of Miami are we in?_ She thought, comparing the giggles of families and dancing strangers to her own quiet apartment building.

_All I ever hear at night is Dez persuading me to buy a penguin._

"Umm. So, what were you saying back in the club?" Austin turned to her. His eyes gave off a warm, friendly glimmer with the street lamps.

"Oh um I don't know." Ally waved it off, trying to forget how much she seemed to have in common with him.

She thought she was dreaming when a sweet, cute boy had come up to her and started talking.

And now a sweet cute boy who liked songwriting, too.

_Yup, It's decided, I'm dreaming. Done and done._

"Oh uh okay." Austin glanced around himself. Ally could tell he was trying to think of another conversation starter.

_Should have just answered the question. Would've saved us from all this awkwardness._

But, she really wasn't in the mood to bring up her days of songwriting.

The endless nights, she would fall asleep on C major, the weekends sitting under a tree outside of her yard scrawling away lyrics in the book, the number of times her father would say that she was going to make it big some day.

But they were all lies.

"_So Ms. Dawson. Show us your talent." The snooty young interviewer spoke through his nose as he shuffled through the applicant's papers. The room was empty, except for the solid black piano that stood in the corner of the room and the interviewer's desk._

"_Of course." Ally replied, sure of herself._

_Her fingers ran among the keys slowly, playing out with her heart and soul. Everything was perfect, right down to the last note._

And the following week in the mail, she received a letter of rejection.

She still remembers the way her hands shook as she read the paper and the tear drops that blurred the size eight font words, barely bothering to read past, the "We are sorry."

How it took her under a minute to run to Dez's house and cry all night with him.

Cause of course, Dez was Dez. Whenever someone was crying, he wailed along with you.

Quite a depressing night actually.

And after that she stopped playing, sold her piano, and tore up her songs.

"_I shouldn't waste my time anymore."-_ were the words that she would speak every time her father or Dez would try to bring music back into her life.

"_I'm done, Dad."_

"_Just sit at the bench one last-" He proposed._

"_NO DAD! I'm done with the piano."_

It was the first argument she had ever had with her father.

And the last, considering how he never brought it up again.

"Hey, look!" Austin popped up suddenly like a jack in the box, snapping Ally out of thoughts.

The boy had succeeded in coming up with a new conversation starter.

His eyes were wide with excitement as he stared at something from across the street. He reached for her hand, pulling her into a small jog across the road with him.

Ally looked around to see what would have caught Austin's eye. A small group of boys were lingering around, each of them in matching neon skinny jeans and beanies.

"What are they doing?"

She stared at one boy as he pulled his leg into a quad stretch, giving off the appearance of a flamingo.

Austin opened his mouth to answer and was cut off, when a boy raised his hands and clapped.

Tourists and everyone on the streets came running over instantly. It was as if the young boy had called a town hall meeting.

A small circle had formed around the group. The boys huddled together and seemed to wait until the mob of people had quieted.

_Who are these guys?_ Ally looked around her, as the random strangers, shuffled in closer to see the boys from a better angle.

And then the upbeat bass of a pop song ran through the speakers, filling up the streets and the night sky with its melody.

The neon pants swirled in and around each other as each boy would take his turn impressing the crowd with his jerks or pops.

Then, the brunette did a flip and the arms of the crowd raised in cheers and screams.

The boys laughed and ran around once, high- fiving and commenting to each other. Ally smiled subconsciously to herself.

No the dance wasn't choreographed or professional. It was in the middle of the street at ten thirty at night with a small pair of portable speakers.

And the kids weren't old, maybe eleven, twelve at the most. Definitely middle school students from the way they skipped around.

But it was the way that they danced that made it so contagious to watch. The way that they were just having fun with it, flipping and bouncing around in tune to the music.

Sometimes perfection of the details can bore the main idea.

But these kids, hell they didn't have details, just a main idea of fun.

The wheels in Ally's head turned as she thought through everything. The dance wasn't rehearsed, the kids were obviously winging it, doing what they pleased, when they pleased.

But, with the Boss, she had rehearsed all night, prepping exactly what she was going to say and how she was going to say it, but no. Did she get a crowd of people, "aw"ing at her success?

_I lost to an inanimate apple product._ She pouted.

Then suddenly the boy in the middle clapped his hands again and they group separated, each of them running into separate parts of the crowd.

Ally stared at the cheers rose louder, and began to wonder how this wasn't a violation of any street laws.

_Gosh, I am such a lawyer._

The boys froze and waited till the cheers died down again.

Then they turned up the music once more and picked up where they had left off, but this time with the crowd. The arch that was around the group of boys had disintegrated forming a blob of people.

An outside club one would say, with little lost Ally caught right smack in the middle of it all.

_There is no way my hip can do that._ Ally eyed the middle- aged woman next to her who seemed to be having the time of her life.

The people around her bumped into her as they tried to dance and Ally clapped her hands in tune to the music. She looked around for Austin, hoping to find his grey hoodie in the middle of the crowd.

Which thankfully she did.

He had made his way over by the speakers and was dancing on his own. Dancing extremely well on his own, one could say.

He caught her eye and smiled down at her. He crossed his legs and twirled, urging Ally to do the same.

"I can't dance." She shook her head and spoke in his ear, thinking ironically at they came out of the club so that they could hear better. And here they were, right next to the speakers.

Austin's smile dropped for a second and he looked stumped.

_Ughh, now he thinks Im a loser. Why couldn't I have just smiled and nodded. Nothing bad ever happens when you smile and nod._

Then his eyes narrowed and he gave a small smirk. Covering her small hands with his, he lifted them up in the air for her and then moved in behind her, so her back was up against his chest.

Ally felt his warm presence and light cinnamon fragrance completely cover her in a snuggly hug. It gave her a feeling of protection, a feeling that no matter what came her way she could handle it.

"I can help you." His breathe was by her ear and Ally's cheeks turned a shade of pink as she realized how close he really was to her.

Not that she minded.

They bounced gently to the upbeat music and Ally couldn't help but let out a laugh as he pumped her hand in the air for her.

It was like she was a dancing puppet and he was the master.

She couldn't have picked a better master.

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**REVIEWWWW PRETTY PLEASE! **

**Sorry for updating so late.. sheepish smile.. haha such a busy busy life… sigh. Anyway, truly hope you guys liked it..**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 of "Project Love."**

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"That was beyond insane." Austin threw his head back, laughing as Ally giggled into him.

"Hey, now I told you I couldn't dance." Her head bent down as she continued to guffaw at her previous actions.

"I didn't know you'd knock over all their speakers!" Austin arm slid around her waist to balance the two of them as they walked away, almost like escapades from the scene of a crime.

The crime being another girl trying to hit on Austin with her dancing, while Ally knocked over the entire speaker system.

She thought back to just a few seconds ago, when a sultry blonde had moved her hips through the crowd to Austin, practically grinding up against him in an effort to have a dance. An Austin, being the guy he was, turned away from Ally to her.

_I won my man back now didn't I?_ She thought back to the way Austin's mouth had curved up into a smile when he saw the petite brunette stand there with a oops- expression on her face as everything tumbled down.

"Ohh gosh, those poor boys." Ally musical laugh scaled up into the air. She buried her head into Austin's shoulder, wincing at her great moment of humiliation.

"Heha. . ." Austin let out happy sigh, smiling down at her, once everything had quieted down.

"You know, you didn't have to do that." He spoke gently, caring for each syllable.

"You think I did it on purpose!?" Ally shrieked, pulling away to look up at him.

"No, well. Maybe not the crashing down part, but I mean, you're way cuter than the blonde girl." Austin spoke shyly and grinned to himself in success as Ally pulled in close to him again, a blush covering her face.

"I wanted to dance on my own, it had nothing to do with trying to impress you."

"Uh huh." Austin's eyebrows rose and he smiled.

"Yeah huh." Ally replied, opening her mouth widely, emphasizing in the childish manner.

"Who's a jealous Ally? You are! You are!" Austin sang to his own song.

"Really? We're going to be adults like that." Ally planted her hands on her hips, bringing out the lawyer in her.

Austin jumped a step in front of her turning around to add pointing to his lyrics.

"Shut up!" Ally started into small run, chasing him down the sidewalk. Austin froze under the streetlight, panting mixed in with laughter. Ally caught up to him and crashed against his chest, giggling as he held her.

He bent down nuzzling his head with hers.

It was so hard to believe that he had spent his entire life without a girl like her. She was funny, sweet, dorky, smart. Just incredible. Every movement she made and word she spoke was deemed perfect in his mind.

Which was probably one of the reasons, why his lips captured hers in a kiss.

Ally's eyes widened, but then her hands slowly reached up, locking behind his neck. They ran out of breathe, resting their foreheads on each other.

Ally stared into his eyes, not believing how beautiful they were. The gold flecks spread out amongst a sea of brown, like diamonds in the sky.

Ally's phone vibrated causing them to pull away. She cursed the cellular device for reminding her of reality.

"Uh I should get going then. It's kind of late." She looked around, before realizing that she really had no clue where to go from here.

_Oh gosh. I don't wanna get lost._

"No!" Austin burst out and reached for her arm, bringing her back to him. Ally's eyes widened in surprise and he cleared his throat.

"I mean, its late and I don't think its uh safe for like a pretty girl, like you know. . .and um yeah strangers." Austin rambled, while Ally laughed at his stumbling.

"Come home with me." He finished his little speech off with the sentence, chuckling under his breathe at his own inability to convey his thoughts well.

Ally's smile disappeared for a second before returning again, but this time accompanied by yet another nod.

. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You live here?" Ally held Austin's hand as they ran across the road to a hotel. Lighted palm trees lined the area and vales would park the celebrities' cars, constantly running about. It looked like one of those picture perfect hotels, with the teenage daddy's girls, handing off their poodles to the bellboys.

"Heh yeah." Austin shrugged, while Ally gaped, comparing her own measly apartment building to the grand home before her.

"_Ally, do you wanna move? There's a giant hole in my wall."_

"_Dezz, I have work. Can we talk later? Just tape it."_

"_Allyyy, I think we should change apartments. My fridge broke again."_

"_Yeahh, later. Just tape it or something."_

"_How am I supposed to tape a fridge?"_

"_Dez! Can we talk later?"_

But, times just never worked out. Moving meant finding an apartment, and packing the stuff and actually moving and then. . . the effort was just far too much for Ally. Well the effort was far too much for Ally and her insane work schedule. Dez could always deal with a hole and broken fridge. Because according to Ally, duct tape is the only useful tool.

"Come on." Austin tugged on her hand pulling her through the doorway.

And into a lobby filled with thousands of screaming girls, waving Austin Moon posters and CDs. Half of them begging for marriage.

"Shit." Austin muttered under his breathe, shaking his head. He had completely forgotten about being international pop star Austin Monica Moon.

For a couple of hours he had just been Austin and it had never felt so great.

_Back to reality. Damn, how am I going to tell her? I have to tell her eventually. Well, do i? Yes, god, Austin you have to tell her._

"Whoaa!" Ally laughed and looked up at him. "What does like Justin Bieber live here too or something?" She giggled.

"Yeah, something like that." Austin tugged his hood down further and pulled her into the nearest elevator, avoiding eye contact with any of the screaming fans.

He knew his fans, they didn't need hair or wardrobe to spot him. Hell, they knew his nose like the back of their hands.

The doors slid shut on them and Austin let out a sigh of relief, focusing once more on the confused girl in front of him.

Ally leaned against the corner of the elevator, gripping the railing so hard her hands had turned white.

Austin cocked her head at her behavior and she responded with a weak smile.

"I don't like elevators." She managed to squeak out.

Austin eyes seemed to melt in sympathy for the girl. He walked over to her and gently hugged her, holding her till as the elevator rose.

"It's okay. It would never break." Austin whispered in her ear. "And if it did, then I'm holding you. I would never let you fall."

Ally mouth opened in disbelief at his words.

_Sweet. Check. The way he helped me dance._

_Funny. Check. His little song, he's like a child._

_Cute. Half of a check. His eyes are the definition of beautiful. Why won't he take off his hood, though?_

_Compassionate. Check. He would never let me fall! Ahhhhhah. . . _

Austin held onto her till the elevator let out a familiar ding of the elevator doors opening.

And the ding of the elevator brought Ally's points down to one main conclusion.

_He's perfect._

. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Here." Austin handed her a glass of wine, and plopped down right next to her.

She had curled up, tucking both legs in towards her stomach. Smiling in thanks, she reached for the glass and swirled it around, letting the sharp maroon color spin in a tornado before taking a sip.

"Okay!" Allly bounced up, tucking her legs into criss cross apple sauce position. Austin smiled at her sudden enthusiasm and leaned forward.

"Let's play a game." She smiled.

Austin's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure? Cause," Austin flexed his arms, "I always win." He winked, causing her to giggle.

"We'll see." Ally's chin lifted with her confidence boost.

"Choose your game." Austin sunk into the couch, facing her.

"Two truths and a lie?" She asked.

"Fineee. But then can we play football?" Austin pulled out a miniature football from under his couch, his mouth curving up into a smile.

"I'm cleaning your house as soon as this is over." She muttered, eyeing the surrounding area.

An old pizza box stacked on top of a notebook on top of pair of sneakers had been dumped by the T.V. And not to mention the thousands of random CD's that were strewn all over the place, caused Ally to shudder.

"No way, you're a neat freak!" Austin said, gaping at her. His mouth was prepping to curve up into a smile.

"Guilty." Ally clicked her tongue and lifted her hands in a criminal manner.

They both laughed for a bit, before getting silent again.

"Okay! You go first." Ally spoke, pointing at him.

"Alright, so umm one) My favorite color is yellow. Two) I eat anything." Ally scoffed.

"And three, when I was little, I wanted to be a pilot. Whoosshhhh." Austin drove an imaginary plane into Ally's tummy, causing her to laugh and push him away.

"Hmmm. . .when you were little you didn't want to be a pilot. That's your lie." Ally spoke, extending her legs towards him.

"How'd you know?" Austin extended his so that they crossed over Ally's in the most adorable way.

"Well, the walls of the apartment are yellow, so I assume you like yellow." Ally indicated with her hand at the sunshiney yellow that seemed to be covering the living room walls and kitchen tiles.

"Cheater." Austin muttered, earning a slap on the arm from Ally.

" And you seem like the kind of guy who will eat anything." Ally glanced at the take out boxes on the kitchen tables. But she wasn't one to accuse. The only thing she could make was ready- made rice. Well that and cereal.

Thank god, Dez took a cooking class.

"So what'd you wanna be when you were little?" Ally asked him, having a foot war with his right leg.

"An international rock star." Austin casually spoke, intertwining his leg with hers.

"And now you're a songwriter, so you didn't get too far off." Ally eyes sparkled with happiness for his success.

_Girl, I hit the bulls eye. Cough, you just don't know yet._

"Well I went easy on you. Your turn." Austin sipped his wine and attacked Ally's left foot.

"Hmm. One) my best friend is Dez."

"Hey the kid! That's Dez!?" Austin interrupted her. "The redhead who can't get a girl!"

Ally laughed and continued, not bothering to answer him.

"Two) I always wanted to be a songwriter, but then. . .I stopped."

Austin stopped his war with her foot and looked up into her eyes. They had went from soft and happy to having a fierce sort of isolation.

An isolation that he didn't want from her.

"And three) my dad owns a surf shop."

"Pshaww, no way you're dad owns a surf shop. Wait he doesn't right?" Austin worried slightly. He really didn't want to offend her dad.

"Nah, he owns a music store." Ally smiled, proud of her ability to stump him.

"Why don't you write songs anymore?" Austin asked her. The smile dropped straight off her face and she looked away.

"I. . . I. . ." _Tell him, just open up and tell him._

Austin glanced at her and noticed the inner argument that she seemed to having with herself.

He got up from his comfy position on the couch and scooted in closer to her, draping his arm across her shoulder and pulling her into his chest.

"You don't have to tell me" He kissed her forehead softly. "Tell me whenever you're ready."

_That way we both have secrets. _Austin shyly tugged his hood down.

Ally smiled genuinely and tilted her head down. Her index finger traced the swirls on the couch.

"My turn!" Austin popped up, causing Ally to forget her thoughts and focus on him. She reached for her wine glass once again, drowning her songwriting remembrances with alcohol.

"One) My name is not Austin." Ally giggled and abandoned her piano thoughts, "Two) I think Ally Dawson is probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Ally blushed and showed her teeth in a brilliant smile.

"Three, I think. . . I think I'm falling for her."

Ally's eyes widened and everything seemed to freeze.

_His name is Austin. One lie, he can only tell one lie._

The wine glass gently clinked to the rug on the ground, adding another stain to the world of garbage under there. The red of the wine spread through the carpet, making a jagged line across the original blue stripes.

_What were you thinking, she doesn't feel that way about you.. you idiot!_ Austin bashed on himself, and turned away when he saw her frozen. He bent over to try and pick up her glass and apologize when. . .

she leaned forward, crashing her lips against his.

Austin lips moved in synch with her soft lips. His hand reached up to cup her cheek and she leaned into his palm. He pressed further into her and Ally let out a small moan as he took on a rougher turn, gently stroking her hip.

Her legs straddled his waist and she softly shoved against his chest to lie down. Austin moved his lips down to her neck, gently sucking on it, both of them starting to breathe heavier as things heated up. She knew it would leave a hickey, but none of them cared.

_He's falling for me. HIM! He is falling for me._

_She likes me back! SHE! I can't, she's amazing._

Ally's hand slipped under his shirt, her gentle fingertips, tracing small circles on his abs, before pulling the whole shirt off of him.

Austin kissed her lips again, loving the feel of her body on top of his. He wanted to be closer with her. He wanted to impress her, show her how much he cared and how much he really wanted her.

Austin played with the zipper on her dress, kissing her all over, asking for entrance.

And Ally nodded for the third time in one night.

. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Oh naughty Ally, getting it on at a first date. Sigh, sigh. Oh well, we'll see what happens.. haha. **

**Hope you guys liked it and please review! I love hearing what you all have to say.**

**Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 of "Project Love"**

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A ray of sunshine flashed through the small opening between the curtains, landing right onto the wine glass dropped by the couch. The glass sparkled with the light of the beam and diffracted the white light into the wonderful colors of the rainbow.

Each color beautiful in its own distinct way.

The brunette laid tucked into the blonde's side. His arms were wrapped around her waist, just as hers snuggled her deeper into his neck.

All personal space rules obviously being violated.

Ally let out a small moan as she squirmed out of her position and slowly lifted her eyelids open.

Her fingers traced along his smooth stomach, before deciding to sit herself up.

She glanced around the area, reminiscing in the brightness of the yellow walls.

"_How'd you know?"_

"_Well, the walls of the apartment are yellow, so I assume you like yellow."_

"_Cheater." Austin muttered._

Ally smiled at the remembrance and let her eyes continue to wander to the football lying untouched by the T.V.

"_Wait, wait," Austin spoke midst of the heated make out session on the couch._

"_What?" Ally looked up from his lips._

"_You know this means we won't have time for football tonight then?" He smiled cheekily at her as she rolled her eyes in response. _

_He laughed and pressed her lips against his once more._

Ally ran her fingers through her hair, her smile broadening as she thought of more memories.

"_One) My name is not Austin. Two) I think Ally Dawson is probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen._

_Three, I think. . . I think I'm falling for her."_

_You can only tell one lie._

Ally blushed as his words filled her mind.

The way he had looked at her as he said it. The way his eyes always seemed to curve up in happiness, or the way his mouth would open up immediately when he laughed to reveal the most perfect white pearls of teeth.

Ally felt the soft breeze against her skin and instantly remembered the naughtier details of last night.

"_Are you sure, Ally? I don't wanna pressure you." He pulled away from her lips._

"_Remember how you said you were falling for me?" She spoke while kissing his neck._

"_Yeahh." He panted._

"_Ditto." She looked up straight into his eyes. The tear of a condom packet was heard._

She shuddered, pulling the covers of a plaid blanket closer to herself. She spotted her dress tossed over by the table and decided against putting on the tight outfit again. But, instead continued to search around for some clothing of Austin's that she could borrow.

Her eyes glimmered when she came across a black t- shirt of his. She leaned over his stomach and managed to skim across it in a feather- light touch, before snatching the oversized tee.

She slipped it over her head and smiled in success when she saw how the hem reached her thighs.

_Heh, not exposed anymore._

Ally pushed herself up by Austin's neck, closing her eyes to breathe in his warm scent.

And snuggling into the crook of his neck to feel his warm skin.

And listening closely to hear his soft breathing.

And then she opened her eyes; her beautiful brown orbs taking in every detail of him.

Her breath ran short, and her blood seemed to run cold through her veins.

_No._

_No._

_No. No. No. No. There is no way this is happening._

She silently shook her head and pushed herself up again, staring at him once more, frozen in shock.

_It can't be. There's no way. No. No._

Ally ran her fingers through his hair, brushing the blond highlights with her fingertips. It was the same hair, she had run her fingers through last night.

But, somehow it wasn't the same hair.

Not anymore.

_No. It's not him. No. It's not him._

Ally stared at him, breathing hard. Her hands frozen on his chest, willing him to open his eyes and tell her everything was fine and that he was a doppelganger of an international pop star.

"_I'm a songwriter." He had spoken._

_No, NO._

Austin let out a soft moan, almost seeming to say "Ally."

Ally's breathing heightened, and she swallowed deeply, reminding herself every now and then that a human being does need to breathe.

Suddenly, Austin opened his eyes. They curved up along with the appearance of a beautiful smile when he saw her face.

"Hi." He whispered, lifting his arm to tuck a strand of her curly brown hair under her ear.

_Brown eyes. Blond hair. Perfect body._

_Holy shit. _

_I just had sex with Austin Moon._

And she fell off the couch with a satisfying thud.

. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Ally!" Austin scrambled off the couch to the disheveled girl that seemed to have fallen off of the couch in shock.

"Ally, are you okay?" He leaned down to offer her a hand, but didn't expect her to pull away from him with wide eyes.

"I'm fine." She whispered, shaking her head. She calmly brushed off the imaginary dirt and moved around the couch, further away from him.

"What's wrong?" Austin asked following her, grinning shyly.

She looked absolutely adorable with his shirt on and the mussed up hair. It made it hard for him to believe that he had actually met such a girl.

Best night ever.

"I – I-. .." Ally closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Opening her eyes to look straight into his, she spoke, "What's your full name?"

"What?" Austin's smirk faltered instantly.

"I'm just curious. What's your last name?" Ally repeated herself. Her eyes were dark, showing no emotion. Just black and white facts of a lawyer's mind.

"Why does that matter?" Austin cocked his head.

"Why can't you tell me then?" Ally planted her hands on her hips and stepped around the couch some more. Her foot landed on silky basketball shorts beneath her. She praised her luck and casually slipped them on, not bothering to wonder who or where it came from.

"Fine. It's. . .Rosa." Austin winced. He gave off the first name that had come to his head, which with his luck was Trish's.

"Austin Rosa?"

"I'm part Spanish." Austin lifted his chin.

"Mom's side or Dad's side."

"Mom's." He quickly replied, knowing that if he really was Spanish, he would know which side of the family it was on.

"Then why would it be Rosa? Shouldn't you have your dad's last name." Ally blasted off questions at him. Her eyebrows arched up in question.

Austin's mouth silently gaped and he stepped back, not believing how easily he had just been fooled. He winced and ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about how frustrating she was being.

Then he turned around, and right behind him was a small rectangular mirror.

Enough of a mirror to show him his reflection of his signature blond hair and Ally in the background, playing with his whistle, engraved on it "Austin Moon."

She looked up at him, her eyebrows bent down in discomfort.

_SHITTT. I completely forgot about the hair. And the Austin moon part of me. . . and ahhh shittt._

"Ally. . ." He bit his bottom lip, not too sure how to start with his explanation.

"Why would you lie to me?" She cut him off.

A hurt expression covered her face and it killed Austin to look at her. It absolutely killed him to know that he was the reason why her pretty face was sad.

"I didn't lie. I was . . ." He closed his eyes and put the palm of his hands to his eyes.

"Save it for someone who cares, Austin Rosa." She spoke through her teeth and grabbing her dress in one swift motion.

Ally flew out the door with nothing but her last words for Austin to remember her by.

. . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Heyyy guysss,**

**HOPE YOULIKED IT! **

**So yes yes the last chapter I did mess up with the moon.. you guys are amazing readers! Hehe proud of you guys for spotting that.. lololol. But I did change it, so the story should make sense now..**

**Reviewwwww, pretty please with a cherry on top!**

**Thanks, guys!**

**p.s. The Wedding Planners will also be updated soon. Although I'm having a lot of fun with this fic, soo yeahh.. haha**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 of "Project Love"**

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_Yeah, You could be the greatest  
You can be the best-  
You can be the king kong banging on your chest._

Ally ran as soon as the door shut behind her. She dashed down the hall, her tears blurring her eyesight.

She stopped and her arm reached up to wipe away her tears. But it didn't matter they just kept on flowing.

Like a waterfall that wasn't planning on running dry any time soon.

_You could beat the world  
You could beat the war  
You could talk to God, go banging on his door_

Austin walked up to the door, touching the same door knob; she had gripped in anger a couple of seconds ago.

Ducking his head, he whipped around and slid down against the door. He felt tears pricking the corner of his eyes and he shoved them away for a couple of seconds, willing himself not to cry over this girl.

And then one tear got past his wall, sliding down his cheek.

Hell to the wall.

Austin silently let the tears fall, creating their own wet paths on his cheeks.

_You can throw your hands up  
You can be the clock  
You can move a mountain  
You can break rocks  
You can be a master_

Ally's cheeks flushed pink and wet as she stepped out of the elevator. Quickly, looking around in the lobby, she thought back to the night before.

Justin Bieber, my ass. Ally scoffed at her own idiocy. They were all Austin Moon's fans.

Each and every one of them.

And the tears began again.

_Standing in the hall of fame  
And the world's gonna know your name  
Cause you burn with the brightest flame_

Ally's phone beeped and she brushed off tears, before reading the memo that had popped up.

_Shit. _Ally muttered under her breathe. She had completely forgotten about the text she had gotten last night at the club.

**Ally!**

**You have to come in today. I have some paperwork and I need help with it.**

**-Tilly**

Even if it was a Saturday. Being Tilly's assistant didn't stop for the days of the week. Not even for the most heartbreaking days of the week.

Letting out a sigh, Ally clutched her dress to her chest and walked over to the sidewalk. The wind blew around her, pressing his basketball shorts up against her thighs and drying her wet cheeks.

She lifted her chin high and raised her hand to flag down a taxi. . .or bus. . . or Dez.

Whichever found her first.

_Cause you burn with the brightest flame  
And the world's gonna know your name  
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame_

The last tear slipped off of his cheek and landed onto the carpet. Austin watched it slowly disintegrate, knowing that he would never see that tear again. No matter how hard he looked. It was gone.

He shook his head, not believing how easily he had lost it her.

Then he shook his head again, refusing to believe he was going to lose her.

Not this girl.

She was the reason for his laughs, for his smiles, for making his heart beat at a mile a minute.

There was no way he was going to let the reason for making last night, one of the best of his entire life, slip away.

She was not a tear.

Grabbing the pair of pants closest to him, he put them on quickly before making a mad run to the elevator.

Reaching the lobby, he sprinted outside, looking around him in the center of the parking lot. He turned around in a circle, but all he saw were cars. A pedestrian every now and then.

But, a spot of his black shirt or a curl of brown hair was nowhere to be seen.

_On the walls of the hall of fame._

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .

Ally hummed the last note in her head.

C- major, no D. She silently contemplated the minor details in her head, before leaning down, head deep into her notepad to finish her song.

She glanced up once again and stared into her computer screen, her reflection looking right back at her. Her mussed up hair, baggy tee and slight bloodshot eyes made her wince.

She shoved the hair out of her face and scrawled another lyric onto the sheet.

It was the first song she had written since the "incident" and it was amazing how inspired Austin made her, to write. Dashing out his door and crying in the lobby had brought a melody to her mind. And no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible for her to get it out of her head.

And so she wrote it down instead.

"Heyy little Ms. Disappear and doesn't tell her best friend." A familiar mop of red hair appeared by Ally's desk.

"Dez!" Ally stood instantly in surprise of his appearance.

She glanced up and down, noticing his paperwork loosely held in his left arm and his tie barely tied on properly. The guy looked exhausted from the night before and Ally could tell it had been one of those mornings where an overdose of coffee was keeping him from snoring at his desk.

"Don't "Dez!" me. Where were you last night, anyway? I was doing my thing, hooking up with the ladies and I turn around and you're gone."

"Ladies, huh?" Ally scoffed at him, before smiling and continuing with her sarcastic tone, "Thanks for looking for me anyhow."

Ally got up and headed towards the printer, Dez following at her heels.

"Eh, I knew you were fine." He leaned against the cubicle wall, a smirk covering his freckled face, "Soo, how was last night?" Dez winked along with a shimmy.

He wasn't dumb, he had noticed the distraught Ally with the oversized clothing and messed up hair as soon as he saw her. But he still wasn't smart enough to consider all the possibilities of what had gone down last night.

"It was fine." Ally spoke with no emotion. She really didn't want to spill out her feelings right here in the office.

"And the mysterious hoodie of a Prince Charming?" Dez gave off a lovestruck smile, clutching his hands filled with papers to his heart.

"You mean Austin Monica Moon, who doesn't care about anyone, but just wants fun for one night. Yeah, fucking met him." Ally cursed and then covered her mouth as she realized what she said.

So much for not wanting to spill out emotions.

"Huh?" Dez's eyes widened significantly and he stared in confusion as Ally began to softly sob.

"He. . . Dez I got played." She ducked her head, letting her tears free fall to the ground. Her words came out in a choked garble, but it was enough for Dez to understand.

"Allyy. . ." Dez opened his mouth for comforting words to escape, but finding none just offered her a hug, before beginning to cry, himself.

"Why are you crying?" Ally sniffled, pushing herself away from him.

Then she paused, thinking back to when she was little.

It was the day her mother left.

"_Mommy, why are you leaving?" A little Ally stood by her mother as she excitedly crammed clothes into a suitcase._

"_I'm going to the rain forest. The animals need Mommy." Mrs. Dawson placed a stack of shirts by her suitcase and hurried over to the closest._

"_But I need you too." Ally reached up for her mother's shirt and tugging it out from the stack, watching horrifically as the others fell to the ground._

_Her face scrunched up into a frown and she began to bawl. That one shirt pushing her over the edge._

"_Why are you crying?" Mrs. Dawson dropped everything and rushed over to her beautiful little girl._

_Her mother bent down, tucking her hair behind her ears and grabbing the nearest tissue._

_Placing her little girl on her lap, she couldn't figure how to explain her daughter what a chance this was for her._

_What dreams she truly wanted to chase._

_What she had always wanted to do since she was her daughter's age._

_So instead, she chose to whisper in her ear, "Be strong, my Ally- gator. Rawrr." Mrs. Dawson's hands formed that of an alligator and "bit" down on her daughter's arm._

_Smiles of love were exchanged between the two and Mrs. Dawson got up again, continuing to pack, doubts of leaving their newly formed family wandering in her mind._

_Tears slowly dripped down her mother's cheeks as she thought of them._

_Ally slowly tore apart the tissue her mother handed her in half._

"_Mommy, why are you crying?" Her daughter reached up on her tip-toes and handed her the other half of the tissue._

"I don't know! I met the most amazing girl last night actually." He wailed and honked into a nearby tissue.

Ally looked up and smiled at her friend, snapping her entirely out of her thoughts.

She never knew whether he did it on purpose to make her laugh and smile. But he never failed, nonetheless.

Using the edge of his tissue to wipe away the last tears, Dez defiantly shoved his paperwork onto her desk and pulled the nearest chair towards her.

Taking on the impression of Dr. Phil, he stroked his chin and leaned towards her.

"Tell me everything." Dez spoke, reaching for a box of tissues. Plucking one out, he held it to his heart, before cursing.

"Damn. It's the last one. Hold on." Dez got up to search around.

"Here." Ally split his tissue in half right down the middle, remembering her mother the entire time.

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .

Austin wandered back up into his room, lazily taking his time to think through things.

He ran his fingertips along the walls of the hallway, imagining Ally running down these similar hallways, taking the same steps that he was taking now.

Reaching his door, he pushed it open, and pictured Ally's face yet again. The way it had looked at him as if he was nothing to her, especially after the night they had shared. Her soft eyes squinted as she yelled and the frown covering her soft lips were unusual to him.

He missed her large doe eyes, curious and her rosy pink lips turned up in laughter.

His fist clenched and he slammed the door shut, biting down on his lip in frustration.

Running his fingers through his hair, he glanced around the room for his cell phone.

_There's only one way to fix this._

_And I'm not going to lose her. I just found her._ Austin decided, firmly nodding his head.

He unlocked his phone before casually hitting two on his speed dial. He waited patiently as it rang and crossed his fingers slightly, hoping she might pick up.

_She has three phones. How can she not pick up?!_ Austin rolled his eyes, as it continued to ring.

"Hello?" A peppy Latina spoke through his speaker.

"Trish!"

"Heyy youuu." Trish's voice returned to her normal passiveness. And Austin could hear her shouting over a crowd of people.

"Hey, I need your help." Austin admitted. He felt himself blush slightly. He had never outright asked Trish for help before. It had always been implied with his career and such.

"Of course you do. Now what happened with the brunette?" He could hear Trish walking out of the crowded area and a pause as she yelled at someone on her other blackberry.

"That's what I need help with." Austin tugged on his blonde highlights.

"What happened?" Trish's voice softened, afraid of the answer. The last thing she wanted was to have to clear up publicity issues with him.

"She found out." Austin practically whispered.

"Well, she had to eventually. I mean, if she can't accept you for who you are. Then she wasn't the one, Austin." Trish paused, then began again, "When'd you tell her anyway?"

Austin kicked the air and shut his eyes tightly as he spoke, "I didn't. We umm and clothes came off and. . ."

"Oh my god." Austin heard a gasp on the other line of the phone.

"Trish?" Austin pulled his phone away to look at it, before placing it by his ear again.

"You did not just spill your water on my purse! Do you have any idea how much this purse cost!?" She heard Trish's yelling with a hint of a Hispanic accent and what seemed to be a young boy, garbling up his apology.

"Trish." Austin spoke, trying to return her attention to his world again, but all he heard was yelling and what seemed to be the passing around of napkins and multiple curse words in Spanish.

"Hmph," Austin heard Trish walk away, "What was I doing? Oh yeah, Austin. Austin?!" She rose her voice as she spoke.

"Yeah, here."

"Anyway, the girl. You didn't tell her right away did you? Cause you didn't even give her time to get to know you." He heard Trish whine.

"We had sex and then in the morning, she saw me. Without my hoodie." Austin breathed out, finally summing it up into one. It sounded odd to have it all spoken and out of his mind.

There was a long pause and Austin froze, waiting for her response. His words hung in the atmosphere.

"You didn't tell her you were Austin Moon?"

"Nooo." Austin drawled.

"And she found out after, the whole umm intimacy?" Trish tentatively spoke.

"Yeahh." Austin plopped down into the couch, pulling his legs into his chest and tucking his head in.

"I'm coming over." Trish ended the call, abruptly.

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .

**Hiii**

**So I know this chapter was kind of boring, just like a recap of what happened in the last chapter with of course, the help of friends this time around, but I didn't want to cut right into. . . well um, let's not give away spoilers.. haha but I do promise, next chapter will be more interestinggg…**

**The song in the beginning was not written by me.. although I do love it quite dearly these past couple of days.. haha "Hall of Fame" Script ft. Will i. Am**

**HOPE YOU LIKED IT!**

**REVIEWWW PLEASE! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO DO REVIEW! It makes me so motivated to write when I hear your guy's sweet words.. hearts to you all…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 of "Project Love."**

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It was the third facepalm Trish had done in the last ten minutes.

Yeah. Austin was keeping count each time his words would make her close her eyes in frustration and her fingertips would cover her eyelids.

And then an exasperated Trish would take another sip of water, ask a question and then facepalm yet again at his answer.

Austin smiled as the pattern repeated once more.

"Well.. I mean we could try a different club?" Trish's glass clinked against the marble tabletop as she finished her drink. She ran her fingers through her curly black hair, lazily gathering it onto one side.

Austin's head snapped up from its resting position on the kitchen top.

"No!" He swallowed before speaking, "I can never live with myself knowing that. . ." he paused, "that's how she sees me. Some lying scumbag. I want to explain myself and then. . ."

"Then what?" Trish blew out her breath, interrupting him. Her brown eyes caught his, holding his gaze trying to somehow teleport her thoughts to him. Thoughts of how impossible he was acting.

"Then maybe. . " Austin trailed off, his eyes falling down to the different colored marble specks composing the table.

"What if she still doesn't want to go out with you? Austin, honey, let her go." Trish got up out of her seat, walking over to him. She rested an arm on his shoulders in an effort to comfort. Her mother Trish instinct taking over.

"I can't." He whispered, glaring at the specks.

Trish shook her head, biting on her lower lip, not understanding him at all.

This girl was different for some strange reason. She recalled Austin's high school days.

His famous ways of dating practically a girl a week. And then of course a fault would be found in the girl. Too needy, too chill, too goth. . .And then a new girlfriend would appear by his side in the following week.

It was as simple as that. She just didn't get why this brunette couldn't be one of those situations. The girl didn't work, so you replace her.

Common boy logic.

"Please, Trish. Help me find her." Austin choked up on his words, picturing Ally's long brown hair escalating down her shoulders as he spoke.

"Please." He closed his eyes, a black sea of thought clouding his vision as he awaited Trish's answer.

"Ally Dawson, huh?" Trish spoke and without opening his eyes, Austin could hear the familiar beeping as she fumbled around with her blackberry.

"A-l-l-y D-a-w-s-o-n." Trish spoke as her fingertips pressed against the phone, typing the words into the Google search engine.

And then she pressed "search" and watched as the loading circle looped around continuously.

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Wow." Dez was stupefied, staring into space. Speechless, stuck, absolutely lost for words.

Ally nodded sadly, crinkling the papers she was holding in her hands. The freshly printed letter blurred against the white paper and Ally cringed at the results.

She had just finished explaining the full Austin drama out to Dez. From the moments they spent dancing together to the morning freak- out and for once in his entire lifetime, Dez had nothing to say, except for a single 'Wow.'

It was actually starting to concern Ally just a bit.

"Hey, you okay?" Ally leaned in a bit towards him, waving her hand in front of his face.

Dez animatedly popped up again, cocking his head in thought. "You were so close too." Dez scratched his chin in wonder.

"Huh?" Ally pulled back in surprise. "What?"

"I just. . .I really thought he was the one. I mean the mysterious hoodie, the matching glasses clashing, the going out at midnight." He paused and looked up straight into Ally's eyes, "You could have gotten a boyfriend and the promotion. I mean could you imagine! Austin Moon. You're telling me that Austin Moon isn't going to impress the Boss." Dez raised his eyebrows at her and frowned when she turned away.

"Ally?" He leaned in towards her.

"I'm fine." A muffled cry came out and he could hear her sniffles.

"Oh." He pursed his lips and glanced at her quickly before getting up and leaning over to hug her.

"My bad." He muttered towards her.

"No, it's fine." She managed to choke out, pulling away from him. Ally shuffled quietly through her papers, ignoring the tears that would escape every now and then.

"I need to get work done, Dez." She quietly hinted at him

"You sure you'll be fine?" Dez quietly asked. He was always looking out for her. After all it was Ally. They were best friends for life. If he could look out for anyone at all, it would have to be her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She wiped her eyes, before giving a weak smile at him.

He returned a lopsided grin, before disappearing into the nearby cubicle.

Ally let out a sigh, before pushing her song lyrics to the side and focusing on the Carson case in front of her. She quietly turned on her laptop and then began to type. Realizing how loud the keys actually were.

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick. ._

The space bar let out a loud clang and she glanced around herself wondering why her computer had suddenly decided to be the most attention grabbing thing in the office today.

And then she understood.

Almost all of the surrounding cubicles were empty. Just her and Dez and a couple of other workaholics who found the need to come to work on a Saturday.

She cursed Tilly immediately, realizing how her cubicle was just as quiet as all the other vacant ones.

_Bet she's with her perfect little boyfriend. While I get dumped with all of her work._

Ally blew out a sigh, continuing to 'tick' along her keyboard.

She smiled at the noise, bringing back memories from what seemed to be such a long time ago.

"_Dez, no, absolutely not." Ally shook her head, crossing her arms defiantly in front of her chest._

"_Come on. You'd look great. Plus I mean it could help you get hiredddd" Dez wiggled his eyebrows and sang out the last part. He held up the black stiletto heels that he had rummaged through her closet to find._

"_NO, I'm not going to get a job based on how nice my legs look. Besides, I'm clumsy, I could fall and die."_

"_Ally, I promise you, you won't die." He sincerely held up the heels toward her face._

"_How do you know? What if I trip and fall out the window?" Ally placed her hands on her hips._

"_Well then I'll sue." Dez guffawed at his own lawyer firm joke he had made, before casually slipping the shoes into Ally's fingers._

_Her fingers curled around the straps before sighing and holding them far away to view._

_They are pretty cute._

She shook her head quietly, remembering the way she clicked down the tile flooring, cursing Dez the entire way down.

But then again she did get the job.

"Hey! Hey! Do you have any idea who I am?! Get your hands off of me!" A shrill voice shrieked through the office. And Ally's as well as other's heads snapped up at the sudden noise, completely abandoning their thoughts.

She looked over to Dez's cubicle, before realizing that his mop of a redhead was sticking out from the wall as well.

"Whoa whoa, there buddy. I just wanna talk to someone." A younger, deeper voice seemed to persuade. But you could still here the jingling of the security as they held onto the persons.

"Fine. But then how can we get in?" An exasperated girl voice spoke again. There was a pause as the low murmer of a security guard replied.

"THREE DAY WAIT FOR AN APPOINTMENT! Hell, the girl could be on her honeymoon by then. ALLY DAWSON! ALLY! ALLY!" The shrill voice began to yell and the deeper voice joined in shouting her name.

Ally's eyes widened in shock and Dez looked over to her. Ally rushed out of her seat, running swiftly down the maze of offices to where the screams seemed to have originated from.

She broke through the doorway and her eyes took in the scene before her.

Two security guards on the ground, with a short angry Latina standing before them. No doubt the cause of the incident. Over by the other side, stood another blonde guy, his arm still head by a security guard and his other hand rubbing his neck at his friend's actions.

The blonde looked up at the girl in front of him. His mouth fell open and he began to quietly flush a red color.

"Hi." He muttered, waving his fingers.

Ally remained quiet, showing no sign of emotions. With a quick shake of her head, she spun around on her heel and headed back to her office, not believing what she had just witnessed.

"Ally, NO!" She heard Austin yell her name and the outburst of multiple guards. The padding of feet came closer to her and she gasped in surprise as he skidded in front of her.

"Austin!" She stepped back, bumping into a curly black haired, possibly knowing martial arts, cutie.

"Trish!" She heard Dez's voice climb an octave as he shrieked her name.

"Dez!" Trish stared in shock.

Ally glanced around, spotting Dez and Trish seeming to migrate towards each other.

"She's Trish?" Ally asked Dez. Pulling bits and pieces from his last night story to bring the character of Trish to life.

"Yeahh." He spoke softly, smiling.

Ally's heart melted just by watching them. The way she smiled at him in hello and the exchange of a hug they shared.

It was obvious how close they had gotten last night and it was the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

Although it would be more adorable if they height difference wasn't too big of an issue.

"Allyy." She heard a low murmur behind her and her thoughts of Dez's possible relationship broke as Austin Monica Moon filled her mind.

"I can't believe you have the nerve to show up here. After the way you used me. And now you mess up my work life too! Why can't you just leave me alone?" Ally spoke clearly. Her fists tightened and she willed herself not too cry.

"Ally please. I wasn't using you. Listen, last night was one of the greatest nights that I have ever even had. You're amazing and beautiful and hilarious and. . . I cant." Ally's face seemed to soften as Austin continued along his rant, "I always thought I knew what perfect was. Me. And then I met you."

"Why'd you lie to me?" Ally cut straight to the point, trying not to show how much her heart just swelled from his pervious sentence.

"Would you have ever gone out with me if you had known I was Austin Moon?" He looked into her milky chocolate eyes.

"Of cour-" She paused, thinking through the question. If Austin Moon had asked her out, she probably would have said no. And knowing the realistic lawyer inside of her, she would have thought of it as a joke. A T.V. show prank.

You have just been celebrity prank asked out by Austin Moon!

It could happen.

"Exactly." Austin eyes tilted down in guilt, "I'll never lie to you again. Please, another try?" He glanced up at her.

"I don't knowww." She looked around, planning her own escape route out of this mess.

"Please, Ally? If you don't want me after this, I will leave you alone forever. I promise." He held out his pinkie in the most childish way possible.

Ally bit her lower lip in thought.

"_You could have gotten a boyfriend and the promotion. I mean could you imagine!_

"_You were so close too."_

"_You're telling me that Austin Moon isn't going to impress the Boss."_

Dez's words thumped around in her head and flashbacks of last night raced through her mind.

The dance they had shared.

The knocking over of the speakers.

The two truths and lie.

_This is it. This is MY second chance. _

_To get my promotion!_

_I'll get my promotion and then I'll go out with him maybe a little bit longer and then a fight. And bam, Austin Moon the heartbreaker and Tilly are gone forever._

_It's perfect! Revenge is pretty darn sweet. _Ally practically growled at her plan.

She breathed in deeply and stared up into Austin's begging eyes.

"Fine." She nodded, wrapping her little pinkie around his slightly larger one.

Fourth time, she's nodded for him.

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**Haha Ally's a bad girllll.. But she rlly isn't.. still cute and innocent as ever..**

**Hope you liked! REVIEWW! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 of "Project Love."**

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It's amazing what simple movements can do.

A wave of the hand can make you feel like you're on top of the world.

Maybe, a smile from a friend can make an even wider, dorkier smile cover your own face.

Or, perhaps, a nod from the head of your crush can make everything suddenly brighter, cheerier, like a delicate butterfly fluttering around aimlessly in your stomach.

Screw a butterfly, more like a thousand.

A thousand drunken butterflies colliding around.

Austin's mouth gaped slightly, his eyes taking in Ally's slight nod of the head. The way her perfect curls had bobbed slightly from the motion and the familiar rosy pink of her cheeks had reappeared.

His intoxicated butterflies were dashing madly.

"Um, so, if that's all, then I should get going. . ." Ally indicated her cubicle with a casual glance back. He had basically frozen when she nodded her head. His blonde hair slightly tussled from all the previous actions and the corner of his lips were pulling up into crooked grin.

_Yes. She said yes. TO ME! A nod means yes and she said yes._ Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he felt a smile grow on his face and yet. . . he was still incapable of forming any coherent words.

Ally cocked her head in confusion and tugged slightly at the basketball shorts. She sheepishly, lifted her fingers up into a small wave before turning on her heel and walking briskly back to her cubicle.

"Wait!" Austin frantically pulled himself together and ran once more in front of her path. "So, we're friends right?" He spoke giddily and Ally couldn't help but give a mental roll of the eyes before smiling back.

"Yes, Austin, we're friends." She continued her way down through the office.

"Cool." He paused to take it all in, letting Ally pass him through the hallway. Then a thought hit him and almost like an animated cartoon, he popped up again, running in front of her.

"Austin!" She glared at her human roadblock.

"Let's go out to lunch." He spoke, his pupils practically dilated from his excitement.

Ally giggled at his enthusiasm and she saw his eyes light up at her laugh.

His chocolaty eyes gave off a special glimmer. Ally stared into his eyes, squinting slightly at the familiarity.

She knew that sparkle. She had known that sparkle since she was a little girl.

"_Hey." Her father gently sat down by her bedside._

_Textbooks were spread open, all surrounding a studious Ally. Her nose deep into a PDF on her laptop._

"_Hey, Dad." Her eyes remained glued to the screen, cramming in as much as was possible the night before her final exam._

"_I wanted to say good night." He spoke, tucking a stray piece of his daughter's hair behind her ear._

_Ally's head snapped up at her father's words. She leaned over to hug him good night. _

_She returned back to her studies, scrolling through the paragraphs and the impossible to read at three in the morning fonts. Her dad still casually sat on the bed, before getting up and strolling around her room a bit._

_He paused when he came across a photograph. _

_It was the day she had received her first piano. More like the day she had received her best friend. All before the interview incident had gone down._

_He let out a sigh, running his forefinger along the edge of the frame._

"_Ally, are you sure this is what you wanna be?" He looked over to her, glaring at the law books that had replaced his daughter's songwriting. _

"_Yes." She muttered, then turning slightly to look into her father's eyes, she spoke again, softer, "Dad, I know what I'm doing."_

_He stared into his daughter's eyes for a moment, before she turned back to her books._

_He picked up the photograph on the shelf and walked over to her. Leaning down to kiss her head, he also placed the frame right by her laptop._

"_It's just. . . you don't sparkle anymore." He spoke to himself, knowing she could also hear._

_Ally heard his footsteps leave her room, which was when curiosity beat the best of her._

_She glanced down at the picture her father had put down on her pillow. _

_She looked beyond happy, sitting on her piano. The sparkle in her eyes matched that of the gloss on the picture._

_Ally tore her sight away from the photo, closing her eyes in remembrance._

She had known that sparkle because she had had it.

Austin still stared back at her, biting his lip while he waited for her response.

Ally opened her mouth to speak, realizing she had been holding her breath the entire trip through memory lane.

"Austin, I have work to do today. Maybe some other time." She touched his arm in sympathy.

"Please?" He leaned in, not bothering to become discouraged. He took her silence as a sign to continue.

"Pretty please?" He leaned in closer so that his nose was by her ear. He could smell her sweet rose scent and closed his eyes, wishing to get completely lost in it. He could almost picture the scent swirling around him. White and pink curls all around the room.

_What was he even asking again?_ Ally gulped.

"Tomorrow." She managed to choke out. He looked up from her neck and smiled at her response.

His million dollar grin made Ally faint just a little on the inside.

"I'll pick you up at twelve." He winked.

"Friend." Ally definitely stated, adding it onto the end of his sentence. A constant reminder of where they stood.

"Friend." His head tilted up into yet another thousand watt smile. He snatched a quick kiss from her cheek, before whirling around and down the hallway.

His arm lifted up in the air to give a satisfying wave as he casually strolled along.

"Later." His voice echoed throughout the office and Ally winced as his loud voice interrupted the quiet firm.

_Only Austin Moon._

_Only Austin Moon can walk in here, cause the biggest ruckus ever with security, win back his girl, and walk out as if he owns the place._

_And I have lunch with him tomorrow._

Ally shook her head, surprising herself when a giggle erupted from inside of her.

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .

"I can not believe Austin Moon, I'm pausing for dramatic effect," Dez spoke, causing Ally to laugh, "came to the firm and just. He just, wow." Dez let out a dreamy sigh. He flipped through his lunch menu, eying the deserts respectively, before turning back to the appetizers.

"I am feeling the spring rolls, you?" Dez casually ran his finger along the pictures. His mouth watering slightly just from the detailed photos.

Ally played around with her napkin, spreading it between her fingers and then crumpling it back up.

"Ally?" Dez asked again. He leaned forward to wave his hand by her face.

"Hmm?" Ally looked up from her napkin game to him, "Yeah, spring rolls are fine."

Dez grinned at his successful choice, before calling over the waiter.

He started some chatty conversation with the young blonde about the superiority of spring rolls over other rolls, while the waitress noted down their order and wandered off.

"She's cute." Dez muttered apprehensively, sipping his water, before adjusting his tie.

"You two can bond over spring rolls." Ally spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes for effect.

"Don't think we won't." Dez winked at Ally. She played around with the ice in her drink, ignoring his wink. He stretched his neck around, searching for the spring roll girl.

"Dez. . ." She began, lifting her glass to eye level to watch the water rise and fall.

"Hmm?" He turned his attention to her.

"Do you think it was right to forgive him?" She bit down on her lower lip, keeping her eye focused on the water.

"Yeah. I mean after that whole show he put on at the firm. Wow. Just Wow. I mean who goes through that much effort for a girl?" He shook his head, apprehensively.

He glanced over at her again, noticing her discomfort.

"What made you say yes to him?" He asked, softly.

Ally died just a little on the inside from his words.

It was such a simple question too. One were a response would be his eyes, or his smile. His flawless charm would even be acceptable.

"The promotion." Ally whispered, bowing her head. She gently lowered her wine glass to the table.

Dez's eyes grew wide and he reached up to play with his tie once more. Ally closed her eyes, waiting patiently for Dez's words.

Something reassuring to sooth her.

"So after the promotion?" He questioned, deciding to take the interrogative path instead of the 'everything will be alright' way.

"I don't know." Ally looked up into Dez's bewildered eyes. Guilt was apparent all over.

"So, you're using him?" Dez asked quietly.

"No!" Ally clenched her fists. She would never do that.

No, well she could never do that. His puppy dog eyes, and sweet smile. It would kill her to hurt him and there was no way she would do that.

"So? Then?" Dez raised both of his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

"We'll be friends." Ally murmured.

Dez cocked his head. "You said you'd bring a boyfriend to the banquet." He reminded her.

"I'll just ask him to be my boyfriend for one night." Ally nodded, sure of her plan. She bit down on her thumb, nervously.

"It'll work." She reassured herself, going over the situation in her head.

Dez ran his fingers through his hair. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do. I promise. I won't hurt him." She spoke genuinely. She picked up her napkin once more, spreading it between her fingers and spanning it out again.

His face ran through her mind, the way his cheekbones seemed to curve up perfectly. And the highlights in his hair contrasted with his skin tone. He would be an artist's dream to paint.

"Well you have lunch with him tomorrow." Dez spoke lightly, sipping his water.

"Yeahh, lunch with a friend." She spoke.

"A friend who kisses you on the cheek and knows nothing of personal space." The corners of Dez's mouth crinkled into a smile.

"A friend." Ally sternly spoke.

"Alright. You have lunch with your friend tomorrow." Dez smiled lifting up his hands in surrender.

"Who am I supposed to have lunch with?" Dez sighed. They had always had lunch together.

Ally glanced up, realizing.

It was their thing. Breakfast, maybe. Dinner, occasionally. But, lunch was always Dez and Ally time. Time for them to go over their day, laugh out all the bad moment or relish in the good ones.

"You can ask out spring roll girl." Ally gave quick head flick towards the restaurant's kitchen.

"Spring roll girl, eh?" Dez leaned back in his seat.

"I think you may have scared her off." Ally scoffed, as she crossed her legs.

"And to think we may have really connected." Dez shook his head, disapprovingly.

He lifted his hand to wave down, yet another waitress.

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**Sooooooo, watcha think? I personally thought Dez and Ally's talk was kinda cute. I mean like could imagine on the show, there actually being a cute dez and ally convo, where they're just chatting about Austin.. Haha **

**Hope you liked! REVIEWW PLEASE! **

**Thanks, guys!**


	10. Chapter 10

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_I'm having lunch with Austin Moon today._

Ally instantly sat up just a little straighter in her office. Just thinking about him made tingles run across her skin. She pulled the collar of her new Dolce and Gabana blazar, bringing the tough, black fabric closer to her bare neck. She had stood anxiously in front of her closet this morning, piecing together a possible outfit for her first date.

Needless to say, she failed. Well she had failed. Past, as in before Dez stumbled among the professionally dressed girl.

"_Ally you look like you're going to a meeting. About death." Dez spoke, pushing in front of her and rummaging through her closet._

_Ally pursed her lips and crossed her arms, not even bothering to retaliate. _

"_Fine, you dress me." Ally opened her arms wide, finally willing to take on anything._

"_Really?" Dez turned around, a dress hidden behind his back and his eyebrows raised._

"_Yepp." She popped her 'p.'_

"_Wow. I need to get me an Austin." He said, smiling, while she stole the dress out of his hands and walked over to the bathroom._

She ran her pinkie finger along the intricate gold flower that was drawn to cover her entire thigh. The rest of the dress was sheer black and hugged her hips perfectly, ending shortly in the middle of her thighs.

_Ten more minutes. _

She pretended to type up the Carson case, but images of Austin were all that flowed through her mind.

"_What if he's not dressed as nice?"_

"_Well then he'll think you're hotter than him."_

"_What if he forgets?"_

"_Well then you don't go on the date."_

"_What if I mess up?"_

"_I thought you guys were friends. Messing up shouldn't be that big of a deal."_

Ally had fired off almost every possible question that came to mind in the car, but came to a stop when Dez brought up the point.

"_I thought you guys were friends. Messing up shouldn't be that big of a deal."_

_He's right. We're just friends. Just friends. _

She reached over the side of her desk into her purse, pulling a small tube of lipstick. She ran the rosy red color across her lips. She was squirming with anticipation. She couldn't remember the last time she went on a date.

Err, well a friend date.

A friend lunch. Yeah, that's the way to phrase it.

"Dez, I'm gonna go wait in the lobby." She stood up out of her desk officially giving up on being capable of getting any actual work done. Her hair lazily fell across her back in curls.

"Have fun on your friend date." He called back to her, over the cubicle wall. His head peeked over the wall matching with the thumbs up that he made.

Ally shook her head in laughter slightly at his antics. Her eyes scrunched close quickly before opening them once more to the minute hand on the clock.

_Five more minutes._

Ally slung her purse over her shoulder, doing a mental check that she had everything. Blackberry in hand, she walked down the cubicle maze, chewing slightly on her bottom lips every now and then.

Her black stilettos clicked along the marble aisle was she walked.

The clicking stopped once she reached the empty lobby. She glanced around, letting out a small breath of disappointment when she failed to see a flop of a familiar blonde hair. She sat down on the edge of a nearby loveseat, casually scrolling through her phone. The slight worry- wart in her began to come out and fear of being stood up coursed through her.

"So, where do you wanna go for lunch?" A warm breath spoke by her ear.

_Zero minutes._

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"You know what I bet?" Ally giggled as she sat in his car.

Austin had just told his morning story of the day, involving multiple random transitions and references to other matters. It was something completely new to Ally.

Sure there was Dez, but she had never truly understood his conversations. His offtopicness was just too off topic to even be coherent any more.

But with Austin, it was different. He made everything fun by just being himself. And being himself came with the fact that he could make something so simple as eating breakfast become a theory that one day all the apples in the world would unite and take over the bananas. It was hilarious, adorable and even cute. It made Ally feel free. Who knew that the one person that could make Ally feel fun, free and alive would be Austin Monica Moon?

"What?" He tilted his head towards her, still keeping his eyes on the road. A wide grin covered his face. They hadn't stopped laughing since the second they saw each other.

Well, there was that second where he had stood frozen in shock from her beauty.

Not one of his best moments.

"You were dropped on your head as a baby." Ally spoke seriously, shaking her head.

Austin's mouth dropped open and he reached over to grab her clutch bag, smacking her on the arm with one hand, while he drove with the other.

Ally's shrieks and squeals filled the car as she reached to grab it back.

Successfully, retrieving it, Ally calmly settled back into her seat. The warm atmosphere between the two of them was charged with electricity.

"So." Austin leaned his head against his seat. He ran one hand through his blonde locks, while swerving onto the freeway.

"Tell me about yourself." Ally filled in the gap of silence, "what is it like to be Austin Moon the superstar?" She placed a fist under her chin and leaned forward in comical interest.

"Ehh." He turned his head towards the window eying the cars next to him. They all sped through the highway.

"What do you mean 'ehh'?! You're Austin Moon!" She waved her hands in frenzy fashion trying to prove her point to him.

"I guess its kind of nice. But I mean, everything has its nice moments. Like this." He turned to her, flashing his signature smile. Ally could see the tips of his canine teeth showing.

Ally cocked her head, "Well I mean being rich must be nice." She ran her fingertips along the leather seats of his solid black Porsche, admiring the precious German car.

"And all the girls can't be a negative either." Ally waggled her eyebrows at him.

"And all the parties you get to go to." Ally wistfully spoke. She was always working, and even if she wasn't, she wasn't exactly Miss Popularity, Let's Hit- Up All the Clubs Girl.

"Yeah. Being so rich, most of your friends are only your friends for the money." He muttered under his breath. He kept his eyes cast on the road, but glanced her way slightly. Ally could see it had darkened to more of a hazelnut brown as opposed to the gold it was just a few moments ago.

"And having so many girls that it's hard to ever find a real one out there." He continued on. Staring her straight in the eyes as he spoke.

"And just, being lonely at the parties backstage." His eyes crinkled down and Ally noticed the one most beautiful thing on his face had disappeared.

His smile.

"Austin, I really. I had no idea." She softly spoke, tucking a piece of brown hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright." He turned his attention back to the road. His voice had softened.

Ally bit her lip. She was unsure of what to say, especially considering how she had messed up before.

"I have a hole in my apartment wall which I patched with duck tape." Ally spoke, mentally facepalming herself.

_Do I not have a brain to mouth filter. Honestly._

"What?" He turned his attention back to her, a smile covering his cheeks.

She shrugged. "We all have bad moments. But you just have to take in the good with the bad."

"And your bad moment was a hole with ducktape."

_And an inability to impress my Boss, dress myself and (as was found out recently) pick good conversation topics. But you know, let's those bring those up on a first lunch._ Ally thought sarcastically to herself, mentally cringing.

"You're a good." He spoke, pulling the car into the parking spot. She hadn't even noticed that they had gotten off the highway, let alone arrived at the restaurant.

"Good." Ally heard herself reply. His face had leaned, coming about two inches away. His wolfish smile was parallel to her shy one. She stared at the mix of light brown and gold that seemed to make up his eyes. Her breath was cut short by his beauty.

_Friends don't hold more than ten second stares._

Ally cursed as she tore her gaze from his eyes and quickly opened the door, freeing herself from the mesmerizing smell of his cologne.

"So have you been here?" Ally walked alongside the car, waiting for a stumped Austin to realize that she had indeed left the car.

"Uhh, noo." He quickly got out of his seat as well, locking the doors and slipping the keys into his front pocket. Ally smiled at how easily his personality would change, he was like a puzzle. Looks so easy to figure on the cover, but once you open the box and pour out all the pieces, the complexity begins.

A complexity that Ally was starting to get slightly addicted to.

"You're taking me to restaurant you've never been to?" Ally raised an eyebrow at him.

"I 'yelped' it." Austin defended himself. He held the door open for her and smiled when she let out a laugh.

The restaurant was slightly darker than usual and classical music played lightly in the background. It was entirely formal and Ally felt self- reassured that Dez had dressed her appropriately.

_Mozart's Fifth. _

Ally's hands twitched when she heard a wrong note being played.

_C-G-A. The melody should have been C-G-A. _

Ally glanced around the restaurant itself, pushing the incorrect piano player to the back of her mind. It seemed rather crowded and occupied by more of the classier young adults. She nodded in agreement with his choice. It was obvious he had taken their privacy into thought when deciding on where to eat.

"Mr. Moon. It's an absolute pleasure to have you dine with us again." An Italian waiter came up to Austin. Ally stood in shock as Austin replied in fluent Italian, ending with a distinct 'grazie.'

Ally felt herself shiver as he spoke it so smoothly and richly. So sexy. Her mind traveled back to the naughty things they had done just a while ago. She peeked up at him from under her eyelashes, admiring him. He seemed so sure of himself. Every movement he made exerted confidence.

_Kind of the opposite of me._

"Come on. We're going to be seated over there." Austin switched languages, placing his hand under her elbow to tug her along.

Her heels 'clicked' once more against the hard- wood tiles. They continued their way to the back and Ally cringed once more as the pianist just missed an entire portion of a melody.

Austin glanced down at her, noticing her frown.

"You okay?" He spoke softly, matching the interior of the restaurant.

"Yeah." Ally smiled widely. She didn't want him to think she was frowning because of him.

Oh gosh, no. She was disappointed because of the incapability of some people to play Mozart's Fifth.

They came to a secluded corner of the restaurant. A single dim light lit up the table and Ally smiled as Austin childishly slid into the booth. He bounced slightly in his seat, a grin covering his face. The depressing talk of bad moments seemed forgotten.

Ally gracefully slid in across from him. She noticed how the light seemed to catch a glimmer in his blonde hair and a sparkle in perfect teeth. Ally's voice got caught in her throat and for once she couldn't speak. She could only think. She could only think of something that she thought just days ago could never ever possibly happen.

_I'm having lunch with Austin Moon today._

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**Hope you liked it! REVIEWWW PLEASEE!**


	11. Chapter 11

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_This is bad._

_Ohhh, this is very very bad. _

Ally's brown orbs filled her face in shock when she saw the young waiter make his way towards their table. Two plates were carried high on his arms, one piled high with food and another filled with the proper amount of food that a human being should be capable of consuming.

Austin chuckled slightly at her expression. Delighted in her surprise of the amount that she had ordered.

_Maybe he's taking it to another table. PLEASE let him take it out to another table._

The waiter continued to make his way through the maze of tables, oblivious to Ally's telepathic signals.

The waiter gracefully slid their plates from his expertise hands to the table, placing the plate of steak and vegetables before Austin and a burger the size of Kansas in front of Ally.

"Enjoy!" The peppy voice called as he ran off to refill glasses.

_Ohhhh, this has taken bad to a new level._

Austin coughed into his arm, but failed to hide the enormous grin covering his face.

"I didn't know you could eat this much. A bit unattractive on a first date, don't you think?" Austin comically raised his eyebrows.

"Austin!" She scolded, "I didn't think the order would be this big." She shyly picked up her fork, and using the spears poked the bread gently.

Austin laughed louder, not bothering to hide it in this time around either. He loved the way she made him feel. It was like he was free, lost in his world, for once he could be Austin Moon.

Not _the _Austin Moon.

"You know for being on a date. You're not being very nice." Ally sighed, placing the fork on the napkin and crossing her arms in defiance.

"So we are on a date?" Austin smirked, happy to catch her use of the word. He leaned forward, waiting for her blush.

1.. 2. .3. . and right on a cue, the faint color of pink spread through her cheeks.

"Friend lunch." She corrected him curtly, lifting her fork and knife to prepare to cut through this monstrous hamburger.

Austin smiled at her attempts to change the subject, and leaned back satisfied, "Sure, sure." He caught her eye and gave her a brief wink, before digging into his own food.

Ally quickly cast her eyes down, focusing on her lunch.

It was a friend lunch. No, it had to be a friend lunch.

There was no way she would let her guard down again, especially not around Austin Moon.

Sure, he was sweet, comical and fun. But hadn't they all been? She had been with these pop star types before, well more specifically she had been with one pop star type before.

She still remembers the way Dallas used to hold her.

Yes, Dallas Carter, the number one greatest sensation before the Austies generation came to be. He had been the cause of her three point theory, the one her instinctive lawyer senses had provoked on a lonely Sunday night.

To love, to use, to leave.

He loved her, he had sex with her and then he left her. It was valid. And it had happened again, with Austin Moon. Thus, leading to her restrictions, the three point plan is primarily followed by singers, actors, and pop stars.

And the worst part to it all, was that it made sense. Why would anyone want to go out with simple Ally Dawson, when models roam around their houses?

Exactly, her theory worked. Except for the small error, of Austin coming back.

He was supposed to love me, then have sex with me, then leave.

_But he didn't leave, if anything he came begging back. _Ally bit down on her burger deep in thought.

He was the one fault in her theory.

But, she was sure. A midway fault perhaps, could he possibly be trying to get her to fall in love with him again? A double, three point plan.

_That would be low. _Ally squinted in concentration.

_I won't let it happen._ Austin was her new plan. She would be his friend, he would get her the promotion and then she would accidently delete his number from her phone.

It was her new three point plan, and she was sure it would beat his.

"Whatchu thinking about?" Austin lifted his hand up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. He took the time, to jokingly poke her chipmunk cheek in the process.

"On how I'm going to eat this?!" Ally giggled good- naturedly, reaching over to poke his cheek in return. She gasped silently as his dimple, dented the skin beneath her forefinger.

_Of course, he has dimples. Like he's not attractive enough, God just had to add dimples. _

Austin gently lifted his hand to remove her frozen finger from his cheek. He smiled, as she quickly caught on, shoving her hand beneath the table and continuing to eat with her non- dominant hand.

"Can I play you something?" Austin burst out suddenly, keeping his eyes focused on hers. Her eyes widened slightly and the eyelashes framing them fluttered in result.

"Sure." She nodded, lost at his sudden personality change.

His features brightened instantly and he rushed his way out of the booth and towards the piano.

_Still is supposed to be playing C major._ Ally grimaced as she listened to the symphony continue, quietly praying that Austin had full knowledge of the use of majors versus minors.

The melody came to an abrupt halt and the diners looked around, interested in the sudden turn of events.

Ally giggled to herself, as she sipped her water. The pianist awkwardly stood around, as Austin plopped himself contently down in his place.

Raising his voice, he spoke, "Hi everyone! I'm Austin. And I wanna play a song for my friend." He waved his hand toward Ally. "Hope you like it!" He tagged.

_Like a child. He's like an absolute toddler. But he does what he wants and doesn't let anything get in his way. Not even a rejection letter._ Ally closed her eyes and brought back the memories. Then a soothing melody came along, almost like the light color turquoise was swirling around her. Soft, sweet and melodious. She could lose herself for hours on end.

Then it became sadder, curls and strains of blue being added into the mix. It was entrapping her, the way the harmony mixed with the melody. Austin's hands raced across the piano, speed picking up and splashes of red adding to the mix. Power, strength, determination and then. . .

Turquoise once more. The red disappeared, but its presence still had been there. The red had still taken control, before calming out into a sweet yellow and soft blue hue of relaxation. The song came to a quiet halt, and all color faded to black. Ally opened her eyes again, taking in the clapping restaurant and the cheeky blonde boy, bowing his way back to their table.

He nonchalantly fell into the booth, like playing the piece was nothing. Simply the normal day's errands.

"So, what'd you think?" He sipped his water, keeping his eyes trained on hers.

"It was beautiful, powerful and sweet all at the same." She gave a modest review, keeping the fact to herself that if the song was ever available on ITunes, she would be one of the first fangirls to buy it.

"Thanks." He smiled, "I wrote it last night. Well the ending last night at least. Took me a week to finish. I still need to write the lyrics." He muttered the last part, reminding himself of the work he still had planned.

"No!" Ally's eyes sparked, and she quickly calmed herself, catching the fright in Austin's eyes, "I mean, it doesn't need lyrics. Sometimes when you add to many glitters and sparkles, you lose the real beauty. The pure piece is really good, Austin, just show them tha-"

"No one wants to hear that, but me and you." Austin shook his head dejectedly. "What makes a song popular is the lyrics. Have you ever heard a number one song that doesn't have lyrics or a sick beat?"

"Yeah." Ally nodded. "The one you just played." Her voice gradually rose. He had talent and the most amazing song in the world in his hands. She just couldn't understand why a record company would reject it without a catchy tune.

"That's why I showed it to you. I knew you'd get it." He spoke. "You get me." Austin spoke, soft enough for Ally's ears to hear. He looked up, catching her gaze in his. A soft smile spread across both their cheeks.

"I wanted you to hear a song before it gets changed." He reached over to poke her cheek again, causing a giggle to erupt as their little game of touching returned.

"I loved it. Thank you." Ally thanked him sincerely. It had been a long time, since she had listened to music in that way. She couldn't remember the last time; she had closed her eyes and let the music paint her a picture.

"Any time." He picked up his fork again, returning to his meal. He speared a carrot lying on his plate.

"Austin?" Ally tucked an arm under her chin.

"Hmm?" He glanced up, his cheek stuffed with food.

"What's the title of the song?"

Austin's eyes crinkled into a smile at her question and a soft pink tint covered his cheeks.

"I named it 'Ally.'"

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**AWWW, he wrote her a songgg.. isn't that just adorable.. I feel like that needs to happen in a&a, lool.. but will ally still use him even though Austin is like adorable? Or will she fall in love? Ahh so many questions to be answered! So defo keep reading!**

**Srry for the late update too. No worries, tho! I am back and writing, so expect a lot better updates.. haha**

**Hope you liked! REVIEWWW PRETTYY PLEASEE!**

**Thx, guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 of "Project Love."**

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"Are you sure he didn't say Kallie? Maybe Hallie? Tallie would be a push, but you know I don't judge." Dez paced back and forth in Ally's room. He bit down thoughtfully on the slice of pizza in his hand.

"He said, 'Ally', Dez. I heard it as clear as day. He named his new song after me. I think. . ." She paused, wringing out her hands slightly. "I think he may like me?" Ally coughed the last part out, shaking her head in disbelief.

_He wrote a song based on me. A beautiful, epic, powerful song. . ._

"God, Dez you should have heard it. It was magical. One of the best songs I have ever even heard." She pushed herself back into her couch, covering her face with her palms and letting the decorative pillows cushion her fall.

A small thump was heard with the follow of a giggle and Ally sneaked a peek from under one of her hands to take in Dez sitting criss crossed across from her, a cheeky smile covering his face.

"What's the matter with you?" She sourly asked, before frowning at her tone. She hated to speak to her friend that way. After all, Dez had played no part in the issue in the first place.

"You admitted it." He spoke in a surely tone.

"Admitted what?"

"That Austin likes you." He sang it out, triumphantly biting into his cheese-filled crust.

"Yeah, great. Blonde boy might actually like me. Yes, I admit it. But, but, he needs to stop!" Ally stammered her way through to a conclusion. She lurched herself forward and began to pace across her living room.

"Huh?" A cheesy Dez cocked his head.

Ally glanced down at him, before letting out a quick giggle at his appearance. She tossed a napkin his way before continuing her rant.

"He can't like me. He. . He's supposed to use me and I'm supposed to use him! It's how the plan was supposed to work."

Dez wiped his cheek, "He's supposed to use you?"

Ally paused, "Well yeah." She shrugged. "It's what they've all done." Her voice carried off like a whisper. Dez could practically see her words flutter away outside the little crook of her window. Her curtains swayed shyly. The fabric was dancing at them.

Dez's eyebrows furrowed slightly and mouth formed a small 'o' of surprise as everything began to click into place.

"You're comparing him to Dallas!" Dez shouted, dropping his pizza in shock. It landed with a definite smack onto his plastic plate.

"No, I'm not!" Ally retaliated, stepping out of Dez's reach. She hopped around the mess of dinner on her floor. Her bunny slippers squeaked in tune to her bounces.

"Yes, yes. You are!" His voice softened a fraction, "Ally, Not everyone is like Dallas. He was an ass, he was dumb, he was. . . not nice." Dez winced at his limited vocabulary. He had always used synonym. com for his case write- ups.

He stepped around the miscellaneous items, finding it hard to chase the petite girl around. This was why court rooms were always so spacious. It's hard to accuse someone in a cramped place.

"Austin lied." Ally spoke, freezing in her spot.

"Austin said he was sorry. Austin came back and took you out to dinner and wrote you a song. Austin cared." Dez stared her down, smiling to herself when he saw her turn her head away in frustration.

He was getting to her. He stepped back, giving her time and space to think. He crouched down slightly, reaching for the familiar slice of pizza between his fingertips.

"I know." Ally whispered.

She closed her eyes and leaned against the light red wall. "I most definitely know." The room stood still for a moment. The curtains continuing their own waltz, while everything else dared to breathe.

A small giggle escaped her lips and she shyly smiled to herself.

"We played a poking game."

"I don't even wanna know." Dez slid down the wall, his pajama- clad bottom hitting the white fluffy carpet below.

"He poked my cheek and then I poked his." Ally imitated the action, poking her own cheek.

Dez broke out into a scoff. "You're so in love."

"No, I'm not!" Ally slid down the wall, colliding next to Dez. He leaned over and poked her cheek.

She shook her head. "That's not how he did it. It was like this." Ally grabbed Dez's finger and poked her cheek with it, before bursting into giggles.

"So so in love." Dez shook his head knowingly, passing over the cardboard pizza box, before smacking her head with it.

She nicked the second to last slice and shoved Dez.

"You think I should go with him to the banquet?" She leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up to him.

"Ally if you do not go with him to the banquet, I will cordially smack you." Dez spoke formally, earning a laugh from Ally.

"Alright! I'll ask him tomorrow. He's taking me shopping." She chewed, pulling slightly on the difficult cheese.

"You! He's taking you shopping?! You thought Gucci was a gummy bear brand?!" Dez blew out his breath in exasperation.

"Funny. And you buy a new cardigan almost every weekend. Hah!" Ally stuck her tongue out and Dez shook his head in disapproval.

"Hey, I'll buy you something." She nudged him, hoping to lift his mood.

"Best friend everrr!" He shouted, his long arms pulled her in for a hug and Ally smiled at her friend's inner valley girl. Dez's long red hair brushed across her face and she blew it off, shoving him off of her.

"Soooo, tell me about Trish?" Ally snatched the nearest pillow and tucked it under her head, biting into her slice of pizza. She knew Dez well and with this choice of conversation topic, he could go well into the night, solely discussing her hair.

Ally picked the piece of pepperoni off of her pizza and tucked it into her mouth. The tangy sweetness enveloped her taste buds and she couldn't help but compare the little circle of meat to Austin. The way he always seemed to envelop her in his own sweetness. And the way he kept everything suspenseful, no repeats. Absolutely flavorful.

Not to mention that pepperoni had always been her favorite pizza topping.

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"Did I tell you?! She did the cutest thing when she ordered her food." Austin perched over his stool in Trish's apartment. His arms were crossed on the kitchen island and he stared at the little pieces of ravioli as Trish heated them up.

"Yeah, yeah. She ordered more than she could possibly eat. You've told me everything." Trish flipped her hair, attempting to make him shut up.

It was amazing.

Two hours. Two hours where she had asked Austin what he wanted for dinner, made her own choice of going Italian, driving down to the store and then cooking it herself.

She didn't even do this much work as his manager.

And the entire time, Austin just reminisced his lunch with Ally.

Absolutely amazing. And it was starting to get a tad bit problematic.

"Austin, all of this and she isn't even your girlfriend?" Trish pushed around a ravioli square with her fork, before turning back to him.

"Well. I'm working on it?" Austin's face dropped almost immediately and Trish mentally cursed. She really didn't want to ruin his good night.

"Austin. It's been two hours. And you've only been talking about her. I don't think it's healthy if she isn't your steady something." Trish raised her eyebrows.

"It hasn't been two hours!" His voice broke slightly and he whirred around in search for a clock.

"5-6-7." Austin's fingers counted off the time and a sheepish grin covered his face. "So, I'll ask her. Soon." He bit his thumb as he thought.

"Do you want her to be your girlfriend?"

"Well yeah." His voice trailed off and Trish had seemed to abandon her stove and their dinner.

"So what's the problem, just ask her! That way you can talk about her for long periods of time and I won't feel like my client is becoming royally insane."

"If I talk about her while she's my girlfriend, then that's okay?" Austin smirked at Trish's thought process.

"Listen. I know you. You're going to blurt something out to the press sooner or later. And it'll make a lot more sense to them if Ally is your girlfriend, rather than some random girl you went out to lunch with. Girls don't like guys who stalk."

"I'm not stalking! I'm thinking."

"No one should be thinking about one person for two hours, hon."

"Fine! I'll ask her at the banquet, there!" Austin backed away from Trish, his hands raised in defeat.

"Good. I just like a guy who will let the girl know his feelings, you know?" Trish's blackberry vibrated and Austin quickly snatched it to Trish's disapproval.

"You reply to someone and I will end your career." Trish threatened, her fork waved up in the air and she tried to chase him.

Austin bounced over the counter, his fingers pressing down on the keypad as he typed a reply to Dez.

"So how is Dez?" Austin tilted his head back at his curly haired, a satisfied smirk covering his face.

"Don't you dare! Put down the phone, Austin!" Trish's voice rose and her little legs ran around the counter top.

Austin's chuckle echoed throughout the apartment.

"You reply and your relationship with Ally is done." Trish's shrill voice replied.

Austin grabbed the stovetop to steady himself and smiled when he felt the short Latina crash into him.

"It's all yours." He gracefully handed her phone, jokingly bowing.

"So that's how I get you to do stuff. I threaten Ally." Trish smiled and her tongue slightly poking out.

"Trish, something's burning." He replied smoothly, indicating the little Italian squares starting to turn from the normal tan to a darkening brown. The topic of Ally quickly dropping.

"This is why I don't do things." She switched off the stove, sliding her phone across to Austin.

"Pizza it is."

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**Hiii guys! Hoped you liked it. I know there was barely any auslly, but I felt like a friendship, behind the scenes chapter was needed to keep the story rolling. No worries, I'll make up the fluffy stuff in the next chapter.**

**REVIEWWW PLEASE!**

**Thanks, guys!**


	13. Chapter 13

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The world of fashion.

It's practically a society filled with colors, fabrics and textures. Endless racks and shelves of skirts and shoes. A land where, heaven forbid, if your top doesn't match your cardigan. And polka dot socks, don't even think about it. The people speak the universal language of La Mode and all have this seemingly implanted list of fashion rules in their brains. Red, never to be worn with green. Dresses had to be accompanied with belts. There is never an excuse to wear a baseball cap.

It really is an entirely new world.

A new world that Ms. Ally Dawson had never managed to get the memo about.

"Okay. What is this?!" Ally pulled out frilly skirt holding it before her shoulders. The blonde beside her let out a chuckle, before lowering his sunglasses, and then pulling the silky fabric, lower by her jeans.

"You're so bad at this." He continued to laugh, earning a soft smack from Ally.

"Hey now, I bought stuff from the other store." She indicated the bags hanging off of Austin's arm.

"You bought stuff for Dez!" Austin smiled down at her. A curl struck out from the rest and Austin couldn't help but consistently focus in it. He just wished to twirl his fingers into her soft locks.

"And thank god, you helped. I really had no clue what Dez meant about summer colors." Ally giggled. Her eye caught the glimmer of the nearby jewelry and she bent down to admire.

"And now we know what Ally?" Austin jokingly placed his hands on his hips, his expression taking over the impression of a teacher.

"Black is not a summer color." Ally recited the recent piece of knowledge that had been added to her memory, like a toddler.

"_Okay, Dez says he wants a summer color cardigan. So like. . ." She wandered around Austin, picking the first cardigan, she laid her eyes on. "There! I bought him something, she started to make her way to the register."_

_Austin grabbed her arm, a wide smile covering his face. "He said summer colors, Als."_

"_Black's not a summer color?" Her eyes widened at this news. Black was the most common color in her wardrobe throughout the summer._

"_You wear black in the summer?" Austin's signature blond hair was beginning to peek out slightly from under his hood, and Ally reached up to shove it back under._

"_I'm a lawyer. I wear black all the time."_

"_Well, now you're friends with a rock star. And we don't do black." He smiled at his sentence._

"_But I'm a lawyer." She held up a black blazer._

"_You're also besties with Austin Moon." He held a pink frilled top._

"_Lawyer." The black blazer was held up against her chest._

"_Me." He placed the top in her hands._

"_Lawyer."_

"_Me." Austin stared her down, smiling when he noticed how she was beginning to break out into laughter._

"_Fine. You." She grabbed the pink frilled top, "But when no one in the court room takes me seriously because of my top, I'm blaming you." She closed the gap between them, pointing her index finger squarely into his chest._

"_Oh, However will I deal with the guilt?" Austin feigned, comically swooning._

"I thought girls like shopping. That's kind of why I took you." His voice quieted down for the second sentence.

"No, no one ever got me too into it." Ally whispered. She pulled some of the bracelets off the rack and slipped them on her wrists, "You like?" She held out her wrist before Austin.

He caught her hand and turned it around, smiling when he noticed the letters of 'love' written out in a calligraphic script. "What do you mean?" He started to trace the metal 'l'.

"My mom went to study chimpanzees in the rain forest when I was little. And my dad, is a dad. He isn't into shopping. And my friends, well, you've seen Dez, he's more or less given up on my fashion statements." Ally replied, smoothly.

"Wow. A real Jane Goodman. When's she coming back?" Austin continued to trace, his pinkie, looping around with the 'o'.

Ally stayed silent for a moment. The question always caught her off guard. "I don't know." Austin looked up from her bracelet, noticing the change in her voice, "It's okay! We have Skype." She instantly brightened and Austin nodded, still a small frown on his face.

Even though he was almost always recording or performing somewhere, he made sure to carve out time for his parents. He couldn't imagine a life without his mom. His pinkie swooped off of the 'e'.

Ally looked over at him. He still hadn't seemed too happy when she brought up the Skype. He really did seem to care.

"I like it." Austin played with her bracelet, "I'll buy it for you." He began to slip it off.

"You really don't have to. I have the money myself." Ally reached for the bracelet, gasping in surprise, when Austin held it above his head.

"If you can reach it, you can pay for it." He teased her, a smirk covering his cheeks.

Ally raised herself on her tip toes. There was no way, she would let Austin buy her a bracelet that spelled out the letters love. She knew herself. The second she got home, she would cherish the bracelet till the next time she saw him.

"_Ally. Ally, take off that ring." Dez spoke sternly, walking into her bedroom. She had been sitting on her bed, bawling her eyes out for the past two days. Her only companions being her tissue box and the ring Dallas had once given her._

"_He said 'forever.' He said he would love me forever." A sob caught up in her throat and a tear slid down her cheek. She slid the finger onto her index finger, hugging it to her chest._

"_Ally, take off that ring right now." He spoke a little softer, and leaned over to pull it off. He always knew Dallas was a jerk. The way that he would rush in, steal her away for maybe an hour a week and call himself her boyfriend. And even now that he was gone, he was still causing Dez to hate him. After all, his best friend hadn't come out of her room since the break- up._

"_Ally this ring is cheap and meaningless, just like him." Dez spoke and placing the trash can on her bed, he handed her the ring._

"_Throw it away."_

"_I can't." Ally sobbed._

"_Ally, throw his ring away."_

_She looked into her best friend's eyes and knowing that things would get better, she held the ring over the trashcan._

_And more or less. . . she threw Dallas away. All to remember him by was the soft plink from a plastic trashcan._

Ally jumped slightly, pouting when she felt nothing but air between her fingertips. She looked back up to see Austin, a couple of inches further away from her with the bracelet still dangling from his hand. She couldn't let this bracelet be the ring. She simply couldn't.

Ally pounced again, frowning when nothing was caught. She glanced over again to see that Austin had moved back some more. And again she tried and failed.

Austin's laughter mixed with her own giggling was heard throughout the store. Pleased shoppers looked onto the couple with small smiles, remembering their own first loves.

"I guess, I'm gonna go pay for- Whoa!" Austin shrieked as the little brunette tackled Austin to the carpeted floor. Her hand reached up and grasped the bracelet, smiling when she felt the smooth metal.

Success.

Kind of. She looked down, realizing how close she was to Austin. She had truly fallen directly onto him.

A light pink started to spread through her cheeks and a cheeky grin covered Austin's face. He leaned into the crook of her neck to press a sweet kiss there.

The pink turned into a shade of red and she rushed to get off of the blonde boy. She stood up and pulled him to his feet.

"I win!" Ally cheered, trying to ignore Austin's previous intimate actions.

"So did I." He smiled.

Ally eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"I won you." He whispered c lose to her ear. Ally felt her knees go slightly weak, and leaned into the nearby shelf to somewhat steady herself.

"That and. . ." Austin continued, a similar smirk reappearing on his face, "I have your wallet!" Austin cheered, raising the white leather clutch into the air and running towards the maze of shoes.

And, Ally just smiled, since after all what else could she do. The boy in front of her was adorable, loving and playful all rolled into one. So her lips formed into a smile.

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Miss my place?" He asked, as he slid the key into the door lock. A soft click was heard, and his hand reached to twist the handle.

"Eh, doesn't really bring back too great of memories." Ally boldly stated, and grimaced when she realized what she meant. She avoided eye contact with him.

"Some parts of it was good." He opened the door and turned around to wink at her.

_Some parts of it were very good._ Ally thought to herself, biting her lower lip.

Austin tossed the bags over by the floor and shook off his jacket. Ally walked over and lifted his sunglasses off his eyes, playing around with them.

She glanced back to notice that he had disappeared to somewhere else in the pent house. She shyly, slipped his pop star glasses over her own eyes and sneaked towards his mirror. She cocked her head, admiring herself and then made a duck face, bursting into giggles. She quickly struck a model's pose, Austin completely vacating her mind.

"Looking quite dapper." The familiar voice joked in a British accent. Ally jumped out of her pose, sheepishly smiling.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Moon." Ally teased back, moving towards him. She removed the glasses and tried to hand them back.

"Keep them. They look better on you, anyway." He smiled.

"Thanks." Ally spoke softly. She was close enough for him to hear, anyhow.

He slipped the glasses back onto her face, allowing his fingertips to brush against her skin. A breath wasn't heard in the room.

_We're friends. He needs to stop. We're supposed to be friends._ Ally hyperventilated in her head, but made no move to step back.

Austin leaned down, slightly, taking this as his chance. Her eyes fluttered close and he cupped her cheek. Millimeters couldn't even describe the proximity. His lower lip gently brushed hers, and he felt her arms, tug slightly at his hair.

And then the catchy ringtone of his phone filled the atmosphere and all was lost. Ally pulled back, smiling, while Austin mentally cursed.

"Hello." He dejectedly answered. _The world better be exploding or something._

"Austin! Guess what! I got you another gig! Nation Amphitheater tonight. Be there by 6. Nancy can dress you once your there. Tony will be outside your place by 5. See you there!" And after the splur of details, Trish hung up.

_What?! I'm spending time with Ally. I don't wanna go._ A whine began in his head and he turned to the sweet girl.

"What's wrong? You look sad." Her eyebrows knit together in worry and Austin found it adorable.

"I have a concert tonight. Sudden concert." He explained, frowning.

"So, why are you sad?!" Ally laughed, "Gosh, I would love to go to a concert." She spoke, tugging on the hem of her shirt, when she realized that dinner with him now was probably out of the question.

"Come with me!" A sudden inspiration sparked his mind and he jumped up in excitement, "Pretty please! Pretty pretty please! I promise it'll be so much fun!" He jumped over and around her and Ally giggled at his sudden reactions to the smallest things.

"I don't know Austin. Aren't concerts like three hours long? And I have work tomorrow and. . ." Ally trailed off. His puppy dog eyes were glaring her down.

"Tomorrow's Sunday."

"I still have work." She frowned.

"Pleaseee, Ally." He whined, choosing to ignore her insane work schedule. His wasn't much better anyhow.

"I don't know, Austin." She looked away, trying to think clearly, with his cologne whirling around her.

"Please?" He moved in closer to her, his hands wrapped around her waist. And his pleads turned more sexual each time. Ally felt herself grow warm under his hands and words.

_We're friends. Intimate friends. _

"One concert?" He pressed his lips against her cheek and traveled down slowly. He waited for her to shove him away and tell him it was wrong. But no motion was made.

_FRIENDS DON'T DO THIS! _Ally shouted in her mind.

"Please?" His hands around her waist, lowered to her behind and he hitched her up, so that her legs wrapped around his waist. She let out a gasp and wrapped her arms around his neck. She had always been afraid of heights.

_Screw friendship._

He turned placing her on his countertop and scooting in so that he was between her legs.

"Pl-" Austin got cut off, by her sigh.

"Yes, yes Austin. I will go to your concert with you. Honestly, how do people say no to you?" She jokingly glared him down.

"Hehe. That's the thing, they don't." He placed his sunglasses over her eyes again and let out a chuckle when she rolled her eyes.

_Absolutely screw friendship._

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**Hiiiii,**

**I feel like its not my best. Lol, idk, I've written better before and this chapter it was like ehh… **

**Hope you liked it though and I would like to thank everyone for the sweet reviews. I especially love the long ones, they're beyond fun to read and rly cute.**

**Thanks so much guys! REVIEWW PRETTY PLZ! (hehe Austin style)**


	14. Chapter 14

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"Room 3B. .3B. .3B. . ." Ally softly muttered to herself as she passed the D rooms. She picked up her pace, turning into the right hallway, silently cursing when she found herself in front of 4A.

"I give up." She let out a light sigh, running her fingers through her hair in disappointment. Austin had insisted that she leave it down for the night, and despite Ally's pros of ponytail versus cons of hair down list that she spent a good five minutes making, she still ended up letting her hair fall naturally into her face.

_Thanks Moon._

She leaned against the wall, biting her lower lip as she tried to picture herself in an architect's point of view. "Where would I put 3B?" She spoke out loud, and then immediately ducked her head in embarrassment when the backstage light crew rushed past her.

_If they can make this many hallways, I'm sure they could have spent some money on maps._ A small pout covered her lips, and she slid down the wall, stretching her legs before her. Well, mostly bare legs before her.

"_So how do people dress for concerts?" Ally admired her pantsuits and blazers. Although a small instinct in the back of her mind, reminded her that she may have to abandon those for one night._

"_Casually, I guess. I don't know, I've never really noticed," Austin yawned, leaning against her closet. He shifted his head, so that his brown doe eyes caught hers. They both smiled._

"_Your fans probably have your biography memorized, and you don't notice what they wear?" Ally shook her head, jokingly. _

"_Fine, fine." Austin pushed himself off the wall, and began to rummage through her closet. Ally scooted back and watched him. She had never noticed how tan his skin was, or the way he seemed to make every movement so graceful. Contrary to her own clumsy habits._

"_Here!" He popped out from the mess of clothes with a t-shirt and pair of shorts. She went over to the bathroom, quickly changing into the outfit. Her mind focused completely on Austin's statute as she dressed. She rushed out quickly, and stood by her mirror._

"_No, no, no. I'll wear jeans." She muttered to herself, turning to crash into Austin, "These shorts are way too short." _

"_I like short shorts." Austin grinned boyishly. He sheepishly cast his eyes down, before softly speaking, "I wanted to see you in shorts."_

_Ally cocked her head, her mind freezing at how hot his actions seemed to be._

"_Why?" She quietly spoke, stepping closer to him._

"_I don't know. I like your legs." Austin started to turn a faint pink and Ally couldn't help but let out a giggle. He looked up in surprise at the noise._

"_Oh god, Austin. Friends, my boy. Consider yourself friendzoned." She wrapped her arms around him in a hug._

"_You do have really nice legs though." Austin spoke by her ear._

She crossed her ankles, the fabric from her converse scratching against her skin. It had been practically forever since she had worn converse. Which of course Austin had insisted on.

_He brings out the kid in me._

She leaned further into the wall, feeling the sturdy surface against her scalp. It was soothing and she felt another sigh coming on. It was a sigh filled with thoughts of Austin, the banquet, her promotion. . . her three point plan, which at the moment was struggling to even be a plan anymore.

Should she use him?

'Could she use him?' was more of the question. All his sweet words and actions. He was like a yellow rose, rare in beauty, standing out against the original red. If she took a petal from him, how could he trust anyone anymore?

But another year of Tilly. Her inner conscience groaned at the thought. Another year of following her every order again and again and again. Her blond hair whipping back and forth as she sashayed down the maze of cubicles on her way home for the weekend, while Ally sat at her desk, struggling with Tilly's extra paperwork.

She needed that promotion. Ally took a gulp of breath, before finishing her thought.

She needed the promotion. More than she needed Austin.

That was the original plan. That was how everything was supposed to go. She was supposed to use him to play her boyfriend, win her promotion and move ahead with her life.

So, why was it so hard to use him? He was supposed to be her pawn. She was supposed to have the upper hand, not be stuck under a rock of empathy.

But then again, she always sucked at chess.

Her eyebrows pulled together in anger and a rage of mental curses began. She ducked her head, eyes remaining closed, as she tried to picture any imperfect moments she had had with him today; or had had with him at all. She just needed something to make her upset, anything to make saying good-bye easier.

But everyone knows, that the hardest thing to say to someone you love is goodbye.

And that was the source of the problem, why did she like him? How did this even happen? How did I grow so fond of this kid that my plan became a shadow to him?

She couldn't let it happen, she wasn't going to let her guard down. Place everything on the back burner for a slimmer of love, which surely if she followed would lead to no other than another Dallas wannabe at the end of the game.

Her life wasn't a game anymore, and neither was this promotion.

She traced circles on her knees in thought. Her pinkie freezing when she realized who she was imitating. 

"_I feel like the Queen of England." Ally sipped on her martini, sinking into the limo's cushions. Austin sat parallel to her, his dimples making her swoon._

"_You've never been in a limo before?" He asked, straightening his tie. His leather jacket hung perfectly around him._

"_Nope." Ally replied, lifting the cherry out of her drink._

"_Prom?" He raised an eyebrow._

"_Didn't go." His eyebrow dropped in surprise and he leaned in._

"_Weddings?"_

"_None involving limos." She tilted her head back, biting into the cherry._

"_Sweet Sixteens?" Austin's eyes arched into the shape of sympathy._

"_Dez is a boy."_

"_Wow." He leaned back into the cushioned seat, surprised. _

"_Yeah." Ally ducked her head shyly, sipping her drink once more. Austin glanced at her, noticing the change in her mood._

"_Well is our royalty excited for her first Austin Moon concert?" He gave a crooked smile before lifting her legs to be placed on his lap. A giggle burst out of her lips, and she continued to laugh as Austin traced tiny swirls with his pinkie over her leg._

"_Ecstatic." She smiled._

Footsteps shook the ground she was seated on, and Ally sat up a little straighter, abandoning her thoughts of Austin for the time being.

"You'll be on in ten, Mr. Moon." A professional voice echoed down the hallway, and the thudding of shoes escalated.

_Mr. Moon!_ Ally smiled at the mention of his name.

"Kay." A nonchalant voice replied over the sound of a young woman screaming into her Blackberry with a hint of Spanish.

"And we sent your friend to your room 3B." The voice continued, along with the rapid nervous clicking of a pen.

"Ally?! Isnt she watching me perform?" The thudding halted for a moment, and the short squeak of Austin's Jordans as he turned to discuss the matter with the voice.

_Oh god. They're coming this way._ Ally instantly froze, remembering her embarrassing situation of having gotten lost backstage.

"Yes, of course. We will bring her up front." The voice reassured Austin, a small stumble as he spoke. The thudding continued once more and the Spanish curses seemed to be getting closer.

_Oh no. No, NO. They're going to see me on the ground like a toddler. Oh my god, why? Why this hallway?_

"Nah, it's cool. I'm gonna go see her and I'll show her around." Austin spoke giddily, and the thudding increased in speed and velocity.

_He's excited to see me. Oh my god. This is going to be so embarrassing. _

"Good plan, Mr. Moon." The voice seemed to be nodding and panting slightly as he tried to catch up with Austin's long strides.

They were barely a foot away, inches.

_Please god, make me invisible._ Ally shut her eyes, and covered her face with her hands. She knew the familiar pink blush that was going to cover her face as soon as this all would go down.

"Yeah. We might be able to catch a late dinner and maybe a mov-" Austin's voice paused. Ally squeezed her eyes tighter, hoping that he may have turned a different path. She really didn't want him to think she was incapable of finding a simple room number.

Even though she was.

Someone sat down beside her and Ally buried her face deeper into her arms. She felt her cheeks turning red, and Austin stifling a laugh.

"Mr. Moon, we're going to. . ." The voice took in the situation and seemed to drag Trish along with him out of the hallway.

"Yeah, I'll see you in ten." He replied. The thudding became fainter before calming out entirely. Ally shyly lifted her head to see a familiar set of crinkled brown eyes smiling at her.

"Is there a reason why you didn't wanna go inside the room?" He nudged her gently.

"Are you kidding me? I spent half an hour searching for the thing! I give up, I couldn't find room 3B!" Ally explained her issues with a huff of exasperation.

Austin cocked his head, lifting his hand to point the door next to 4A. "You're sitting in front of it though?"

Ally's mouth dropped open, and she leaned back against the wall in amusement at the situation. She turned her head to notice Austin, covering his mouth in laughter.

"Are you laughing at me?" Ally joked tauntingly. Her hands fell to her hips and she squinted her eyes in mock anger.

"No, your highness I would never." He teased her back with one of her own earlier references.

"It was one comparison to the Queen of England!" Ally laughed to her disbelief that he would hold this over her for so long. He continued to chuckle, falling over onto his side in laughter.

Ally shoved him, her little hands formed fists as she pounded on him to stop.

"The door was right in front of you." He wheezed out between his laughs.

"You're so meannn. . ." Ally whined. He grabbed her little fists, and watched in slow motion as Ally was pulled onto him. Her hair smelled sweet of orchids and he felt like burying his head into those thousands of flowers.

Ally's breath fell short as she realized the position she stood in, on top of Austin, in the middle of an empty hallway.

Oh my, paparazzi's dream in a flash.

And suddenly everything she was about to do hit her. Like a sudden softball to the back of the head, she realized what she was going to do.

She was going to walk away from the one man she might possibly ever love.

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**REVIEWWWW! THANKS!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 of "Project Love."**

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"Blue." Ally tapped her chin decisively. A small sparkle shined in the corner of her eye as she sat, leaned up against Austin's shoulder. Her mouth curved up into a smile at her own response.

"No! Blue eyes?" Austin cocked his head, a giant grin spread across his cheek. His guitar laid in his lap, and he aimlessly strummed away, hitting random chords as he pleased.

"Yeah. Ever since I was little, my imaginative Prince Charming was born with blue eyes and brown hair." Ally tilted her head back, awaiting his expression. She grinned in success when he ran his fingers into his already mussed up hair. Even in his post concert, sweaty state, he still managed to make Ally's heart beat twice as fast.

Austin nudged her, a similar grin covering his own face, "I find it interesting how your Prince Charming is the exact opposite of me." He placed emphasis on the words 'exact opposite' and like a direct key to her smile, she burst into giggles. He laughed along as well, keeping his eyebrows raised while he awaited an explanation.

"Alright, but if I tell you the truth, you'll get cocky." Ally bit her lip, a tint of pink covering her cheeks. Her eyes smiled up at him.

He played a melody, before halting it with his palm. "I'm already cocky," he smiled and then rephrasing the question, "Ally, when you were little, what did you picture your Prince Charming as?"

"Blond hair and blue eyes." She truthfully spoke, ignoring the cheeky Austin whipping his hair beside her. She continued, finding him easy to converse with, "I always had a dream that I would be reading a book in my castle, and an evil butler. . ."

"Butler?" Austin glanced down at her in surprise.

"I loved love. I didn't want my parents to be separated. No stepmother." Ally definitively stated, she reached for a strawberry on the green room table.

Austin shook his head, disbelieving the existence of such a sweet girl, but played along. "And what horrible crime would this evil butler do?"

"The evil butler would be poison me with a strawberry lollipop, and I'd fall into a deep sleep." Ally spoke matter of factly.

"A lollipop?" His signature Austin Moon smirk coated his face.

"I was five, Moon, my passion was lollipops and unicorns. And you can't eat a unicorn, so. . ." Ally paused, allowing them to laugh for a couple of moments at her explanation.

"Anyway," Ally continued, "You know the rest of the story, my Prince Charming slays the dragon, wakes me with a kiss, and the evil butler is banished from the kingdom." Ally smiled as she reminisced her memories. Her old-fashioned dreams of Prince Charmings, and her long lasting fear of butlers.

Austin burst into laughter, his head leaned against her and he could feel her shaking from her giggles as well.

"Oh come on!" Ally poked him, persuasively. "Don't tell me you didn't have a princess when you were little."

Austin controlled his laughter, and spoke, "As a matter of fact I did."

Ally mockingly tucked her fist under her chin, and leaned in closer. "Tell." She encouraged.

"Brunette, of course. And green eyes. A castle made out of chocolate and she would have a candy crown with little candy dwarfs running around her." Austin's eyes widened and he spoke faster as he described.

"Willy Wonka clashed with Snow White." Ally summed it up, a smile never leaving her face. She could bet that a similar dream still occupied his mind.

"More or less." He smiled down on her, finding their backstage conversation to have taken on a rather strange turn.

"And then would you save her?" Ally leaned up towards him, her inner romantic dying to hear the end.

"I would slay the chocolate river monster, and save her from his clutches." He continued, smiling.

"And then you would rush into her arms and kiss her. And get married and live happily ever after." Ally sighed happily. "I wish I could live in a fairy tale." Ally confessed. She snuggled deeper into Austin, closing her eyes and listening to him play around on his guitar.

He played the melody of his newest song, his bangs falling into his eyes as he ducked his head in search for the right string. "You always could," Austin responded aimlessly, "I know a blonde who would be happy to oblige." Austin caught her eye and smiled as a blush fluttered through her cheeks.

"You don't have blue eyes." Ally yawned, she felt her eyes closing, finding it amazing how at comfort she was with him.

"Colored contacts, baby." Austin strummed along, a smile covering his cheek. This was it. This was the exact moment that just days ago he was wishing he could have. He would be sitting in his green room, right after he had just wooed a thousand of his fans, talking with his girlfriend.

And he was.

Kinda. She was a girl and a friend. And he wanted her to be his girlfriend. So technically, it was close enough.

"You can't climb a castle." Ally murmured, she smiled subconsciously at their little game.

"That's what you're worried about. What happened to the dragon in your story?" Austin stopped strumming, finding their conversation to be the highlight of his entertainment.

"You wouldn't even make it to the dragon. The butler would get to you first." Ally stretched out her legs, wiggling her toes.

Austin burst in laughter, and Ally tagged along. He was too fun to sleep around. She could rest when she wasn't with him. Right now she just wanted to be awake and alert in every moment.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Austin! Ally! It's past midnight. Come on guys, lets head hom-" Trish twisted open the doorknob to her client's green room. She immediately hushed down, taking in the scene spanded out before her. Ally sleeping soundlessly against Austin as he played with her curls.

So much for awake and alert in every moment.

"Austin!" Trish whisper-shouted. Her harsh tone cracked through his thoughts and his head snapped up, noticing his best friend.

"Look." He smiled down at Ally, "She's so sweet. Did you know-" Austin began his Ally discussion, before having Trish cut him off.

"That we need to go home? Yes we need to. It's after midnight, and they need to close this place down. Wake her up so we can go."

"But she's sleeping!" Austin retaliated. She looked so peaceful, serene, like a brunette angel.

"Well, unless you're planning on carrying her to the car, then. . ."

Austin immediately stood up, handing his guitar over to Trish. He bent down by her and slipped his arms under her back. He quietly, pulled her closer to himself, and just like Prince Charming, carried her over by Trish.

"You have got to be kidding me. Austin, she has legs." Trish placed her hands on her hips, silently pleased by her boy's actions.

"She's sleeping, Trish." Austin scowled down at his manager. His clothes looked rumpled from all his lounging around, and hint of a shadow showed beneath his eyes due to the late hour, but he still had a smile on his face and a glimmer in his eye.

And that was all that truly mattered to Trish. The fact that the girl in his arms was the reason for his newly found sparkle. He had performed better than ever tonight, and Trish knew it wasn't due to the recent grand opening of the arena or the Red Bull, she had made him chug earlier. His energy boost came from the little brunette in his arms.

If she was the reason for his success, then by all means. . . he could carry her up fifty flights of stairs if he wanted to.

"So if I fell asleep, you would carry me?" Trish glared up at him, throwing his guitar around her shoulder, she picked up the rest of his concert equipment lying in bags on the floor, and grunted her way down the hall. Austin smiled at the Latina, and picked up his pace to walk beside her.

"I'll let Dez know you prefer to be carried." Austin whispered by her ear, earning a push three steps backward.

"And I'll let Ally know you have an issue with waking up women." Trish scowled, smiling with her eyes.

"Touche" Austin smiled, finally getting Trish to giggle.

"You dork."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The yellow and blue highway lights blurred past them. Austin sat by the window of the Chevi, watching the mixtures of the bright lights. He squinted, hoping to slow the drive down, but Trish simply accelerated and the houses became nothing but a sheet of black.

He glanced down at Ally. Her head laid on his lap, and every now and then his finger would wrap around one of her curls, twirling it and bouncing it around. His pinkie found its newest victim, as it attacked the strand. He smiled.

And then her dark eyelashes fluttered, and a pair of wide brown eyes looked up at him.

"Hii," She whispered. Then she blinked in confusion and tossed her head around, searching for an explanation of where she was.

"Hii. You fell asleep and the arena needed to close. . ." Austin trailed off, hoping she would catch the gist of it all, without having him go into the glory details of his heroic carrying adventures.

Oh, she caught on.

"You carried me?" Her eyebrows rose, and her eyes seemed to open a fraction of a bit wider.

"You looked so peaceful!" Austin raised his hands, in defeat. He failed to comprehend how women couldn't see the white knight in him, but instead a creeper who didn't want to wake up a girl.

Ally smiled, she could tell he had rehashed the argument before and found his defensiveness on the subject to be amusing. Her head remained laid by his thigh, which she noted to be a nice cushion.

But she did forget to mention how her heart practically did twenty somersaults when it discovered Austin Moon had carried her to his car. Carried. Like a princess. Just as he would have carried his princess from the chocolate fudge monster.

She let out a content sigh, closing her eyes once more. She let herself relax, despite the flashing lights of the world as Trish sped on.

He made her happy. Really happy.

"Austin, will you come to my lawyer banquet tomorrow night?" She spoke, and instantly faltered. _As my boyfriend._ _As my boyfriend, so I can get a promotion._

_What have I done?_

But she couldn't bring herself to say it. Continue the rest of her statement and ask him to be her boyfriend. It seemed to have always been there in the back of her mind. That knowing feeling that going to lunch with him, shopping with him, the concert. . . the feelings just couldn't vanish for her promotion. The things that he had said and done just couldn't be ignored.

Forget it.

She would get her promotion some other way. Through some way that didn't involve lying and hurting someone who she had finally been capable to open up to. She had asked Austin to come along because she wanted him there, by her side, so that she could sob into his shoulder, when the Boss awards Tilly her undeserving promotion. She wanted him there so that he could make her laugh by playing with the tiny finger sandwiches, and he could speak almost everything that had been on her mind and she had been afraid to say.

Yes, forget it. She didn't want Austin to win her a promotion. No, she wanted him for his friendship.

"What time should I pick you up?" Austin replied, a grin on his face. Ally opened her eyes again, smiling up at him.

"I'll let you know." She spoke, her mind occupied with promotion thoughts. She needed to speak to Dez, desperately. Her eyes focused onto the window and the blurs of light that captivated her eyes. How fast was Trish driving anyhow?

"You don't know what time it starts?" Austin eyes crinkled in humor.

"I'm not a party person!" She laughed at him.

And the bickering began.

Trish glanced back at them, overhearing small portions of their argument mixed with laughter and hint of flirt. Like a recipe for Austin and Ally. She snuck a quick glance back at the two once more and couldn't help but smile at them.

Austin and Ally. Cute.

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**I hope you all liked it! Review and let me know what you thought..**

**Thanks so much! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 of "Project Love"**

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It was all just as she had expected.

The way the sun hit the vases of roses, the palette of dress colors and sound of laughter bubbling throughout the garden. The banquet was held in the park right outside of Grimmer & Bank. The same park that Ally used to come after work to read manuscripts, or listen to music. But that was before she was granted Tilly's assistant. She hadn't seen the park in over a year now, let alone had time to rewind in it.

She could see through the arch, little Tilly mingling, a boyfriend on her arm. The Boss was by her side, pouring champagne into the wine glasses of anyone nearby. And of course, she saw Dez wandering amongst the waiters, picking food off their plates as he joked about.

And it was surprisingly easier than she had expected it to be, walking through the arbor of white daffodils, knowing tonight wasn't her night. She turned her attention back to Tilly. Her hand swooped to flip her blond hair, smacking her boyfriend squarely on the side of his head.

Poor thing looked like he was under Tilly arrest.

Her arm tightened around Austin's, and she snuck a glance at him. A quick glance still reminding her of how utterly handsome he was.

And it was quite ironic, how just after a second as she did so, he peeked down at her, a reminder of the gorgeous woman he was capable of loving. And he would let her know that he was perfectly capable of doing so tonight. The ring weighed down his pocket.

"_Trish, I can't do this. She's going to say no." Austin stood right by his manager inside of the jewelers. _

"_Then she says no, you save the ring for another girl." Trish spoke systematically. She didn't get into feelings. Emotions were messy, no rules, undefined. Something that Trish had never been capable of controlling._

"_I can't do it." He shook his head, turning the red gemstone over and around his fingers. The ring reminded him of the first time he saw her. Not a diamond, but a ruby. Rare in beauty. _

"_You know," The jeweler leaned forth over the display case, "A ruby shows love, passion and protection. One of the best choices for marriage." He tucked a hand under his chin, admiring the young pop sensation's choice. _

"_I. . .I just. . .I don't know." Austin ran his fingers through his hair. He turned his head looking for another pep talk from Trish when he noticed she had disappeared to fulfill her own necklace needs. _

"_Listen, what made you come in here?" The jeweler asked._

"_We went out to lunch, shared jokes, watched a movie and then I was dropping her off at her work, and then. . .I missed her," Austin thought as he spoke, "I knew that if she ever left, I would miss her a lot."_

_The jeweler nodded, hoping for a more dynamic answer, "And?" He prodded._

"_And I knew that I . . .I. . ."_

"_You?" The jeweler nodded, growing impatient._

"_I. . . I think I love her." Austin's eyes grew wide when he realized what he said._

"_There we go. Alright, I accept Visa and debit cards. . ." The jeweler went on, oblivious to the giant grin covering Austin's face._

She breathed it all in, walking silently with him through the makeshift white tunnel. She thought of the number of flowers needed to participate in the creation of the whole thing. A particular flower caught her eye and she paused. Her footsteps stopped as Austin caught a glance back at her, noticing the precision of her cornea towards the one particular daffodil.

It was pink. In a sea of white, someone had made a mistake, pulled a "Dez" and snuck in a pink daffodil.

"_. . .8, 9, 10. Alright, Ally cat, I'm coming to find you." Her grandma wandered through her own garden, peeking through bushes and beneath tables and fountains. But Ally was no were to be seen._

"_She's getting good at this game." Grammie murmured to herself, remembering Ally's three year old hide and seek games. The premature, hiding behind a curtain with her feet sticking out. But, nope, her kitten had grown._

_But all cats still have a little bit of kitties in them. Grammie smiled as she caught sight of her granddaughter's golden brown hair. It practically sparkled. Her sandals crinkled through the grass as she found her kitten, snuggled right by a bed of daffodils. A smile covered her grandmother's face as she prepared to surprise her, but instantly faltered when she saw tears pooling in Ally's eyes. _

_Grammie knelt down in the weeds, pulling her in for a hug, not bothering to ask why. Ally would always ask when she was ready._

"_Why would they do that? Leave it stranded. It has no friends." She lifted a pudgy hand to wipe away a tear, a smear of dirt replacing it._

_Her grandmother pulled her in for a deeper hug, her eyebrows crinkled in concern as she wondered what she was crying for. And then she saw what Ally had seen. A pink flower, snug in the middle of a white flower bed. It did look stranded, brown on the edges, but a healthy pink in the middle. _

"_Ally, that flower isn't stranded." She peeked down at her, wiping the dirt from her face, "It's special. And the other flowers love it for that. That's why they let it in their bed." Her grandmother indicated the other whites._

"_See that one, "Grammie chose the white flower closest to her, "This is her best friend, Flowie, and this here, is her other best friend, Flowa."_

_Ally sniffled, "So she isn't lonely."_

"_No sweetie, she isn't. And she has one more best friend too," Her grandmother tickled her belly, "Ally."_

_And Ally cat burst into giggles._

"Hey. . ." He bent down to her eye level, trying to see what she was focused to intently upon.

Ally snapped out of her memory, shaking her head slightly as she turned to look to look at him. "Hii." She smiled.

"You alright?" He cocked his head.

"I'm fine. That flower was just special." She spoke, tugging on his arm to continue walking through. He let the moment go, following her to the center of the party.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Six!" Ally jumped in excitement when Dez managed to push in the sixth marshmallow into his mouth. She looked over at Austin, smiling when she noticed him barely fitting four in. He shook his head in shock, giving up.

"He has talent." Austin laughed, clapping Dez on the back. Dez smiled through his chubby cheeks. Ally laughed beside the two. She was genuinely enjoying herself, finally understanding the true meaning of mixing work with pleasure.

"I'm going to go get us some drinks." Austin pushed back his seat, heading over to the bar. Those two were the best. His first friends.

"Three glasses of champagne. Thanks." He spoke, turning slightly into a platinum blonde. "Whoa hi." Austin gently moved back, surprised by how close he had come to her. The young lady looked familiar, but Austin couldn't manage to decipher who she exactly was.

"Hi there! You must be Ally's boyfriend." Tilly sneered. She still couldn't believe Ally had managed to snag Austin Moon. After all those years of writing fan letters, and tracking down his every performance, he falls for some mousy brown haired loser.

"Uh yeah. Boyfriend, friend. I think we're more friend actually." Austin nervously laughed. He really didn't know what the boundaries with Ally were anymore. He glanced over to their table, noticing the Boss talking to Ally and Dez. Ally clapped and laughed, as Dez reached for a marshmallow, successfully placing it in his Boss's mouth.

Only Dez.

Austin reached into his pocket, feeling around for the snuggly little box that was secured there. He breathed in, wondering if he was rushing everything. But he had never felt this way before. She was the most important thing to him. Ever.

"Wow. It's shame that she treats people like this." Tilly sighed, leaning against the bar table. Austin cocked his head towards Tilly, breaking away from the sight of his love.

"Huh?"

"Ally. She's playing you like a violin. Just to get her promotion. She's done it before you know." Tilly smirked, a sparkle in her eye as she bs-ed along. Austin raised his eyebrows, preparing to protect his woman.

"Listen, Ally and I are friends, we always have been. She's not like that. . ."

"Are you sure, Austin? She didn't like you earlier did she? And then the promotion got closer and closer and then did things change? Hm? Did she get closer to you?" Tilly pried.

Austin began to reminisce; they had grown insanely closer in the past couple of days. But it didn't mean anything. This chick was insane. Right?

"That's how it is in all relationships." Austin spoke quietly. He trusted Ally.

"Austin, do you want to hear the truth?" Tilly asked. She leaned in closer to him, perking up on bar stool.

"I don't know. . . I know the truth." Austin spoke confidently. He looked back between Tilly and Ally. The Ally that was giggling away, clapping as the Boss managed to reach his fifth marshmallow.

"Here are you drinks sir." The bartender handed him three glasses.

"No Austin do you want to hear the truth?" Tilly took the glasses from his hand, handing him her phone.

"Play the recording. Maybe then your Ally won't be so sweet." Tilly spoke softly. She lifted one of Austin's drinks to her lips, smiling as she drank.

Austin pressed play.

"You two can bond over spring rolls." He heard the clatter of silverware against plates. And Dez was talking with Ally.

"Don't think we won't." The two joked.

"Dez. . ."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think it was right to forgive him?" Austin froze, they were talking about him.

"Yeah. I mean after that whole show he put on at the firm. Wow. Just Wow. I mean who goes through that much effort for a girl?" Austin smiled.

"What made you say yes to him?"

"The promotion." Austin's blood ran cold. Everything seemed to stopped, slow down by at least a minute.

"So after the promotion?" Dez asked.

"I don't know."

"So, you're using him?" Dez continued.

Austin stopped the recording.

"It's so unfair how she treats you all." Tilly crooned, finishing off the drink. "I mean you seem so sweet and for her to use you like that-" Tilly spoke on.

"Shut up." Austin snapped at her. He picked up the remainder of the two drinks, heading back to their table.

"Oh my." Tilly thought, giggling. Someone got a bit upset. Tilly swirled around her chair, heading back to her boyfriend and her now guaranteed promotion.

She used me. Those three words ran through his mind over and over again. It was on replay.

She used me to win her promotion.

Im her fucking pawn. Austin screamed, pounding through his head. He felt the urge to slam a brick, punch a wall, something, anything.

He walked over to their table, slamming the drinks on the table. The crisp red liquid sloshed before swinging out of the glass and landing on the white tablecloth.

"Oh my gosh!" Ally turned from her conversation, watching Austin. She stood up, noticing how tense he had gotten.

"Austin?" She lowered her voice, "You alright?" His eyes were no longer the warm brown she had grown accustomed to, but instead took on a stormy black.

"Have a nice life, Ally." He turned on his heel and walked straight back through the arbor. As he walked through, he snagged a glance at the pink daffodil that had caught Ally's eye.

She was right, it was fucking irregular. He reached out and pulled it out of the braid of flowers.

_And Ally cat burst into giggles._

"_Go on in, sweetheart." She nudged her granddaughter up, distracting her with the thoughts of cookies and milk._

_Grammie sighed, not believing what innocence fled through the veins of her grandchild. She reached over for the garden clippers that laid by the fountain._

_With a quick snip, she cut off the pink flower from its white friends._

"_There." Her grandmother smiled. "Now everything's perfect again. All back to normal."_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**SOBBBBBB AUSTINSS THE PINKK FLOWERRRR.. SOBBBBB.. I almost cried for even writing this in such a sad tone. But eh, what to do, the story needed to move along.. **

**Hope you guys liked it! And pretty please review! Love you all!**

**Also both my stories, The Wedding Planners and this Project Love are coming to an end. And tbh, I cant really come up with another idea for an Austin and ally story, so I'm thinking of taking a break from Austin and ally and writing another fanfic for the second love of my life, white collar.**

**So any white collar fans out there?! Woot, woot. Try out my story. (which I have yet to name)**

**Here's a quick intro:**

It was always hard playing the game. Pretending, lying.

That's what the game was. It was a threat to everyone around you, showing the millionaires and the billionaires how easily you could lose it all.

Just as I had.

I'm not a conman. My father always told me cons are for amateurs, people who don't have the balls to play the game.

And Daddy, I didn't let you down. I played.

And, I, Neal Caffrey lost.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 of "Project Love"**

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He stormed off, pushing through the stems of roses. The dumbass roses that had looked fucking gorgeous when he was walking through with Ally.

He shook his head as he curved the nearest corner. How could she? Was it even possible to fake all those laughs, those smiles, or those memories. The past couple of days had been the best of his entire life, and here he was; just being told that it was all a lie. He had been betrayed for a promotion.

Austin was almost gone, one more turn and he could race to the sanctuary of his car. He took a deep breath, and caught Ally's eye amongst all the upheaval he had caused. She stared right back, her lips parted and eyes wide. A tension pulsed between the two to an unspoken question.

Unwritten to Ally.

Ally shook her head. She placed the glass back into the waving hand of the boss and pulled away from Dez, hurrying through the arch after him.

"Wait!" Ally shouted. All the beauty of the park that she had admired earlier blurred past her this time around.

He turned around abruptly, rushing towards her, "I can't believe you." He spoke tersely, shaking his head as he tried to catch his breath. Ally bent her head down slightly. She had seen him happy, witnessed him sad, but angry was a first. A first that she wasn't taking to a particular liking.

"You can't believe me! You're the one that stormed off like that! What was that Austin? I mean before it was still like there was a teeny tiny bit of hope left for my promotion, but now," her hands flew up in the air, "it's all gone!" She crossed her arms over her chest, in disbelief of his behavior.

"Oh right! Your promotion! That's all you ever even care about!" His eyes flashed, realizing that this was true. He had been used. Austin Monica Moon had been used by Allyson Marie Dawson. He pictured the headline on the lastest tabloid. His face flushed as the thought. Trish was going to absolutely kill him.

"That's not true." She stepped towards him.

"No?" He stepped back, "Tell me Ally, tell me something other than your promotion that you care about." His finger pointed into her chest.

"I. . I.."

"Exactly! The fact that you even have to think about it, is just. . ."

"What is this?" She cut him off. "What are you doing? If you didn't want to be friends, couldn't you have done this before the banquet?" She fell silent, and he closed his eyes in frustration. He couldn't believe that she honestly had the audacity to make him the bad guy.

"You used me to get your promotion." He spoke, the words sounded like acrimony to his own ears.

"What?!" Her eyebrows shot up, and she dropped her distant tone.

"You played me." He stared at the ground. And Ally stared at him, shaking her head. This was a new side to him. His superman had been stripped away and in its place, she saw a small Austin in him. She could picture a young blonde five year old, bowed before his mother, when he realized the grocery store had run out of Ben and Jerry's chunky monkey ice cream.

And she was his chunky monkey. Well, figuratively.

"Austin that's ridiculous, I would never. . ." She shook her head repetitively, trying to block out the echoes of his words.

"I heard it. I heard every fucking word." His voice broke and whipped around, rushing through the arch.

"Austin!" She shouted, rushing after him. Her dress snagged onto one of the rose bushes. She pulled against it, cursing slightly. She took a deep breath and with shaking fingers unraveled the thorn.

By the time, she looked to the parking lot, he was gone.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

She had been wandering around Miami aimlessly for the past hour. Too horrified to go back to the party, and too dejected to go anywhere else. She knew Dez would be waiting in front of her door like a puppy the second she got home. And for some reason, she didn't want to see him. See him tell her she brought this all on herself. And tell her how great of a guy Austin was. . . and how much he was going to miss him. . .

_I was an ass to Austin on all those first dates. _She shook her head, remembering her meticulous three point planning.

_But, but. . . I really did like him. _ She lifted her hand to wipe away some tears, as she walked along. It was the same area that they had met a while ago, with the dancing boys and the night clubs. She eyed the little touristy shops, not having the spirit to walk into one.

_Not even, did like him. I DO like him. He was the sweetest, funniest, god. . . the way he made me laugh._

She felt a trail of hot tears began to come over her face again, and she picked up her speed walking a bit faster. Dusk had long passed and it was well into night. She took more deep breaths, willing herself not to break down sobbing in the middle of the streets. She lifted her head up, gently pacing herself, took a step into one of the little boutiques. It was a world of color and strollers, filled with baby clothes, little dresses and skirts. Ally smiled, wiggling her two fingers into a sock. She let out a little chuckle, disbelieving at the small things that could make her laugh.

She turned around, giggling again when she came face to face with a giant stuffed giraffe. She stared at it, the way its legs are disproportionally short to its body and its giant bubbly eyes. She didn't know what came over her, after all it was a child's toys. 'Ages 3+' written on the tag, but she cuddled it to her chest and shuffled over to the cash register.

She walked out of the little store, feeling slightly better about herself. The sparkly, pink bow on her giraffe tickled her neck, and she hugged it tighter to herself. The wind blew against her legs and she looked around anxiously, realizing that it was really the dead end of night. And once again she had no clue how to get home.

_Alright, Ally come on. This is seventh street, and you live on Emry, which is near first. So to get near first. . _

Her thoughts her clouded all she could think about was the way Austin had looked at her when he left. The way he smiled as she told her lame jokes. How his piano playing made her feel like she was floating on cloud nine. It was like she had no air, even though she was outside.

_I miss him. .I miss him so much . No Ally, you can cry in the comfort of your home. Now how do you get home?_

"Hey pretty lady." A deep voice bellowed out to her. She closed her eyes, praying it was a young man calling out to his girlfriend.

Ally turned her head around, spotting a couple of drunk men ambling towards her. She hugged her giraffe tighter to herself. Its poor neck scrunched against her chest. She stepped back slowly. Her mind raced as she thought through all the martial arts training she had been taught in her life. Which was a proud zero.

"Pretty lady like you shouldn't be out on the streets by herself." The three laughed, and Ally shuddered at the way their voiced sounded mixed. Goosebumps formed on her skin.

With as much confidence as her inner lawyer could muster, she spoke "I'm fine. Now turn around and go the other way."

"Ohh, you want us to leave, pretty lady. Should we leave, guys?" They burst out into their crackled laughter again, and Ally continued to step back, horrified when she saw the road was dead end. She glanced around the streets, finding them to be deserted. She had even somehow managed to stray away from the boutiques.

"Stay away please." She choked, her entire body shaking in fear. Miami was supposed to be a nice, safe city.

_If I wanted this I would have gone to New York. _She began to cry, backing up against the wall. They were coming dangerously close, and Ally began to prepare herself, her fingers curled into fists. There was no way in hell they would get through her without a fight.

She closed her eyes, and everything slowed down for a second. She took in their half shaven faces, and dilated eyes. Their smug smiles as they harassed her. One of them grabbed the nearest beer bottle on the ground, cracking it against the sidewalk.

She gasped as the broken glass skidded everywhere. Then she heard a screech, a solid black Porsche came to a stop, and she ran, pushing everything out of her way.

She crashed into the comfort of the familiar leather seats, sobs racking up her throat. The three ambled towards the car, their curse words filling the air. Austin swerved the car around smoothly, accelerating away.

Ally continued to sob, her head buried into her stuffed giraffe's nose. Austin kept his eyes on the road, his hands clenched onto the steering wheel.

"You alright?" He spoke once her sobs quieted down into small whimpers.

"No." She shook her head, Austin immediately pulled over, stretching towards her through his seatbelt.

"Did they hurt you?" His irises went from their warm brown into a dark black.

"Austin.." She paused, he cupped her cheek.

"I wasn't crying about that. I was crying cause you left me." She sniffled.

He let out a small gasp, his eyes wide at her words. He leaned back into his own seat.

_I'm so stupid. What was that? He doesn't want you. All you care about is your job. . ._

A click released him from his seatbelt, and his lips caught hers in a kiss.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Hope you liked! Project Love is coming to an end, only a chapter and an epilogue left! **

**Review pretty please!**


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